


Three's a Crowd

by thundercatsarego



Category: Preath, Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-16
Updated: 2016-12-15
Packaged: 2018-08-31 10:25:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 41,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8574700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thundercatsarego/pseuds/thundercatsarego
Summary: Christen and Kelley are teammates on thier college soccer squad. They're also together. But a transfer student becomes their new roommate, and makes Christen question her relationship with Kelley.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My second stab at a fanfic. Let me know what you think.

"Ok ok, fuck, you got me. I surrender." Christen says through panting breaths, laying in her back as she waves an invisible white flag against the tussled sheets of her bed.

Kelley smirks and moves up Christen's body from her previous position between her legs, kissing the tanned skin as she makes her way up to rest atop her girlfriend's heaving chest. "I just love hearing you make those sounds." Kelley says, kissing the valley of skin between Christen's breasts.

Christen lets out a contented sigh and brings her hand up to run her fingers through Kelley's auburn hair. "I love when you make me make those sounds." Christen retorts back playfully.

Kelley repositions herself and pulls herself up to press her lips to Christen's. Christen can taste the remnants of her orgasm on Kelley's lips as she glides her tongue across the still swollen flesh.

"Mm I could do this all day." Kelley groans against Christen's lips.

"Me too. Why did you have to schedule that meet and greet during prime afternoon-delight time." Christen says as Kelley peppers kisses along her jawline and neck.

"Fuck! What time is it?! I completely forgot about that!" Kelley jumps from the bed in a panic and darts around the room picking up the pieces of her outfit scattered across the bedroom floor.

Christen laughs at this, thoroughly entertained by her girlfriend's lack of organizational skills. They couldn't be more different. Christen always has everything planned out, written down carefully in her day planner, while Kelley gets by on neon sticky notes and smudged reminders to herself written on her hand, if she even writes it down at all. But Christen likes how they compliment each other. Sometimes it's good to just let things go unplanned. Christen needs a little spontaneity in her life from time to time.

"You're coming with me right? The new recruits will be there and I want to make a good impression. Please!" Kelley pleads with her girlfriend, kneeling next to the bed giving Christen her signature pouty lips and puppy dog eyes.

Christen smiles and chuckles, giving in to Kelley's dramatic display. "Alright alright, I'll go! I want to meet the new girls. They're my teammates too after all."

"Ok good. One thing though." Kelley says as she finishes pulling on her shorts.

"Anything for you love."

"I'm gonna need you to put on some clothes before we meet them. I want to make a good impression and all, but there's gotta be some mystery. That's what keep 'em coming back." Kelley winks at the tanned girl as Christen scoffs and throws a pillow at Kelley in mock anger.

***

Christen sips on her coffee in the passenger seat as Kelley drives them to campus. The sun is out and Kelley opted to take the top off of her Jeep to enjoy the summer air.

"So where are we meeting the girls?" Christen asks, turning her head toward Kelley as she waits for a response.

"That field right outside of the freshman dorm. Most of them live there so I figured it would be easier for us to come to them." Kelley says, eyes intently on the road.

"Oh ok. Good idea babe." Christen smiles and strokes Kelley's thigh.

"Careful where you put that hand missy. I'm easily distracted." Kelley grins and darts her eyes toward Christen.

Christen retracts her hand. "Yeah, better keep your eyes on the road. I know Jeeps are supposed to be for off-roading and everything, but I don't feel like testing it out today."

The two arrive at the school and park in a spot near the dorm. Kelley gets out and immediately starts pushing bags of soccer equipment to one side of the back seat.

"What are doing?" Christen says, looking puzzled by Kelley's sudden tidiness.

"I'm making room." She grunts and she shoves a bag of pennies under the seat.

"Room for what?" Christen asks, still completely confused by what's going on.

"Our new teammate slash roommate." Kelley's voice muffled from having her head halfway beneath the back seat.

"Wait, what? I thought you said all the girls were freshmen living in this dorm."

Kelley wiggles herself out of the car and brushes her hands together, satisfied with her rearrangement. "No, I said most of the girls are freshmen. We got a transfer too. She's a junior. The dorms were all filled up by the time her transfer went through, so I told her she could stay with us." Kelley shrugs her shoulders nonchalantly.

Although Christen appreciated Kelley's spontaneity most of the time, this was not one of those times. A little perturbed, Christen's face twists in displeasure at the situation. "Babe, why didn't you tell me? Don't you think someone new living in our house with us is something I might want to know about?"

Sensing the frustration in Christen's voice, Kelley tries to smooth over the situation. "I know, I'm sorry. I messed up. It happened a couple of days ago and I thought it might be like, a fun little surprise."

"It's a surprise alright." Christen sighs sarcastically.

"I'm sorry babe. I didn't know what else to do. I didn't want the poor girl living in the streets!"

"She's not a stray dog Kelley. Where is she even going to sleep?"

"I figured we could convert the study back into a bedroom for her. We never use it anyway. Don't worry, I got it all figured out."

Kelley wraps her arm around Christen in a playful side hug. "Besides, having an extra roommate will make rent cheaper, so it's like a win-win!"

Christen sighs, knowing there's nothing she can do to change the situation. Kelley was right, they couldn't leave their teammate out to dry. She loved Kelley's compassion for others, she just wished she thought about the consequences sometimes.

The couple grab a stray ball from the back of the jeep and kick it over to the field where a group of girls stand, nervously chatting with each other. Christen remembers the first couple weeks of college and the anxiety she felt trying to make new friends and fit in with a whole new group of people. She recognizes this look in most of the girls, except one. A lanky brunette stands off to the side, skillfully juggling the ball that they had kicked over. She seems unaffected by the commotion around her as she focuses intently on the ball at her feet.

"Hi ladies, my name is Kelley and this is Christen. Welcome to the team! I wanted to meet you guys today and get to know you a little bit before practices start up. So let's start with a little ice-breaker. I'll go first. My name is Kelley, I'm a defender, I'm a senior this year, and I'll be the captain of the team this year too."

The girls go around introducing themselves, offering tidbits of information about their soccer careers and how excited they are to be playing this year. Christen tries to focus on each girl and remember their faces and names. When they get to the final girl, Christen's eyes focus a little more intently on the brunette with honey eyes she had noticed before.

"Hi, my name's Tobin. I'm a midfielder and I'm a junior this year. I transferred here so I could get some good experience and hopefully a championship." Tobin laughs a bit at her own joke.

A smile spreads across Christen's lips, realizing Tobin is likely the new roommate Kelley alluded to earlier. Tobin's gaze meets Christen's, and she smiles briefly before looking back toward Kelley who had started talking again.

"Good to meet all of you. I'm excited for us to get to know each other better as the season goes on. So I had planned on hanging out to kick the ball around but those ultimate frisbee guys are giving us a death glare. I think they may have reserved the field, so we'll just end here and meet back on the field Tuesday morning at practice. Come ready to sweat!" Kelley leads the team in a cheer to end things and the girls disperse back into the dorm.

Tobin hangs back, looking sheepishly between Kelley and Christen. Kelley walks over to Tobin and gives her a firm pat on the back "Hey Tobin, glad to finally put a face to a name. You ready to see your new digs?"

"Yeah definitely. Thanks again for letting me live with you guys. I would have been totally screwed." Tobin says laughing a bit at herself.

"Yeah no problem. So do you have any bags we can help you with? My jeep's right over there, we can give you a lift to the house." Kelley points in the direction of the parking lot.

"Yeah I have a few things I stuck in the lobby of the dorm for safe keeping while we were out here. It's not too much so it should fit."

Tobin leads them into the dorm and walks over to a small pile of bags. As she slings a bag over her shoulder, Christen watches Tobin's bicep and shoulder muscles contract as she lifts the heavy bag from the ground. She pulls her bottom lip between her teeth as her eyes graze over the brunette, recognizing how fit Tobin is.

Christen's shaken from her daze when Kelley pushes a bag into her arms. "Here if you can take this one I think we're all set." Christen gulps, shaking the thoughts of Tobin from her mind.

They trudge the short distance to Kelley's car and arrange all the bags into the back, leaving just enough room for Tobin to slide into her seat.

"You nice and snug back there?" Kelley asks, adjusting her rear view mirror.

"Yeah I'm wedged in here pretty good. If we get in an accident, I won't be going anywhere." Tobin jokes.

"Don't worry, we'll be fine as long as Christen doesn't distract me." Kelley tease.

Christen laughs and looks back at Tobin. She sees Tobin's eyes shifting between the two, clearly trying to decipher the meaning between Kelley's flirtatious taunt.

After a short drive, they arrive back at the house. It's a small bungalow with a tiny front lawn, but it's perfect for three college girls.

Kelley parks in the driveway and hops out of the car. "Home sweet home!" She shouts across the car.

"I'm sorry in advance, the house is probably a little messy. I would have cleaned it, but Kelley didn't tell me you'd be living with us until today." Christen says, trying to suppress any hint of annoyance in her voice.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. I don't mean to impose." Tobin's eye's furrow in genuine concern.

Christen can't help but crack a smile at the guilt ridden look on Tobin's face. Any ounce of resentment she felt about the situation melts from her. "No, no, you're fine! I promise. I just hope we don't annoy you too much."

"Nah, I can tell this is going to be the start of a beautiful friendship." Tobin gives Christen a wink and turns to follow Kelley up the stairs with her bags.

"It's not much, but it does the trick. Kitchen's back that way and the bathroom and bedrooms are down that hall. Here, I'll show you your room." Kelley leads the girls down a short hallway and into the study.

"The couch is a futon that folds out. You're welcome to use it, but if you want to get a mattress instead, we can chunk this thing on the back porch." Kelley pats the lumpy cushions of the futon.

"Thanks, this is great." Tobin says as she reclines on the futon.

"We also have some extra sheets and blankets in the closet." Christen adds.

Tobin sits up on the futon, a realization suddenly crossing her mind. "So this is a two bedroom house?"

Kelley nods. "Yup."

"Then where--did you--are you..." The gears turn in Tobin's head.

"Oh, we're together. Sorry, I didn't think to tell you that." Christen says apologetically.

Tobin lets out a faint laugh "Ha, oh ok. That makes so much more sense then."

"Like I said before, I hope we don't annoy you too much." Christen quips with a smirk.

Tobin gives Christen a small smile as they hold each other's gaze.

"Ok well we'll let you get settled in. Let us know if you need anything" Kelley says guiding Christen out of the room with her hand on her lower back.

***

Classes start the next day and Christen, Kelley, and Tobin all prepare themselves for their new schedules. Kelley offers to drive Tobin as they both have an early class while Christen elects to stay behind and walk to campus later since her first class isn't until noon. She decides to get some much needed housework done while the other two are out of the house. Christen gathers up pieces of clothing strewn around their room and puts them into a laundry basket. She's amazed by how many clothes Kelley can go through in just a few days.

As she exits her shared room, Christen notices Tobin's door ajar. Knowing she's the only one in the house, she scoots the door open a little further and peeks her head in.

She immediately notices how the room smells different than it had previously. Not bad by any means, but faintly of laundry detergent and some kind of androgynous perfume Tobin must have spritzed on earlier this morning. Christen also notices the clothes hanging neatly in the closet and a hanging shoe rack full of hats. For a girl who seems so uninterested in fashion, she sure has a soft spot for hats. In less than a day, Tobin had already made the room her own, putting her personal stamp on the space. Christen smiles at this thought, liking the fact that Tobin is settling in. This arrangement might work out after all.

After tidying her room and cleaning up dirty plates and bowls from the kitchen sink, Christen packs her backpack up to make the walk to campus. It's less than a mile away, so it shouldn't take her too long to get there.

Once on campus, she marvels at the bustling area. Every building has groups of students standing in front of it, hugging and chatting about their summers, and the sidewalks flow with a steady stream of people trying to get to and fro. Slightly overwhelmed, she looks in the direction of the building she'll need to get to for class and starts her trek, weaving through the crowds of people.

She's not the first one to class, but there are plenty of open seats, so Christen takes a spot on the end of the second row. She rifles through her bag to pull out a notebook, but can't seem to find the new pack of pens she had bought last week.

"Need a pen?" A smooth voice asks her.

Christen looks up to see the amber eyes and wide smile of Tobin. She sits down and plops her backpack in her lap, pulling out a pen from the front pocket.

"Here you go." Tobin offers the pen to Christen and pulls out another for herself.

"Thanks. I'm usually so prepared for class. Must be the first day jitters." Christen explains. "Are you in this class? I didn't know you were a psych major."

"No I'm a communications major, but I figure psychology and communication have a lot to do with each other, so I'm minoring in psychology."

Christen nods her head as she watches Tobin pull out a notebook and put her backpack away. "Cool! Looks like I'll have a study buddy for this class then." Christen smiles.

Tobin grins back at her right as the professor comes in to begin class.

After an hour-long class, Tobin and Christen file out of the room with the rest of the class, talking about the upcoming tests, projects, and assignments for the semester. They vow to spend time studying together and help each other keep up with the readings for class.

"I'm starving, do you want to get lunch?" Tobin asks, putting her hand on her belly.

"Oh, sorry I can't. I actually have another class in 15 minutes. But maybe we could do lunch before class tomorrow if you're free." Christen offers.

"Yeah I have a free hour before this class so we should definitely do that. It might be easier to pay attention when my stomach isn't growling at me all class."

Christen laughs. "Yeah good call. Well I gotta head to class. I'll see you back at the house." Christen gives her a two-handed wave as she back up in the direction of her next class.

"Later" Tobin shouts to her over the crowd of people.

Christen has two more classes back to back that day and by the time she's finished, she's brain dead. She spends her walk home organizing assignments in her head, estimating how much time she'll need to complete each paper or project. By the time she gets home, she's happy to swing the front door open and throw her heavy backpack on the love seat by the door.

As she walks further in the house, she takes in the smell of a home-cooked meal. Knowing Kelley isn't the domestic type, she peeks her head around the corner into the kitchen as sees Tobin with an apron on, stirring a red sauce while meat browns on another burner. Christen smiles when she hears Tobin faintly humming along to the music playing on her phone.

"I didn't know we got a personal chef with this new living arrangement." Christen jokes, stepping all the way into the kitchen.

Tobin, surprised by Christen's sudden presence, jumps a little before turning to face the girl who had grabbed her attention. "Oh, hey! Well I just figured I'd do something to pay you back for being so cool about me staying with you guys."

"Payment accepted. I will always take a home-cooked meal." Christen smiles.

Realizing she hasn't heard or seen her girlfriend yet, Christen asks, "So where's Kelley? If she was here, she'd be hovering over you 'taste testing' the whole time."

"Oh she went out to get a bottle of wine. She left a little while ago so she should be getting back any minute."

Just as Tobin finishes this statement, Christen hears the front door swing open and shut loudly. "Honey, I'm home!" Kelley calls from the living room.

She walks into the kitchen and sets a bottle of wine down on the table. "Hey baby." She says, pulling Christen in for a quick kiss. "How was your first day?"

With Kelley's arms still wrapped around her, Christen pulls back a little to be eye to eye with Kelley. "It was good. I'm kinda brain dead though. Oh, and Tobin and I have a class together!"

"Oh, nice! Guess you two will be spending a lot of time together. Just don't forget about me." Kelley whines into Christen's cheek, planting kisses on the soft skin beneath.

"Oh, poor baby, feeling left out already. Don't worry, I'll give you plenty of attention later." Christen says flirtatiously. Kelley smiles and squeezes the cheek of Christen's ass in response.

Tobin hums a little louder to herself, unsure if she's supposed to be privy to this conversation between girlfriends. Kelley gives Christen another peck on the lips before releasing her and wanders over to the stove where Tobin stands stirring pots idly.

Kelley picks out a piece of brown meat and pops it into her mouth. "Ow, oh hot hot hot!" she says, waving her hand in front of her face as she tries to cool the food inside her mouth.

"Told you she'd do that." Christen teases toward Tobin, earning a smile from the brunette.

"What? I'm the official taste tester. I have to make sure everything is safe for you guys to eat." Kelley defends herself.

"If you really want to be helpful, how about you open that wine up and pour us all a glass." Christen directs her girlfriend.

After all three had had their fill of dinner, they sat around the kitchen table finishing off the bottle of wine between them.

"So Tobin, when you aren't breaking ankles on the field or practicing to be on Top Chef, what do you like to do for fun?" Kelley asks, swirling the bit of wine in her glass.

"Well, I really like surfing, but I haven't checked out the beaches here yet." Tobin responds

"Dude! I love surfing! We should totally go this weekend or like, one morning before class. I'll show you all my secret spots." Kelley waves her hands animatedly, excited for the prospect of a new surfing partner.

"Yeah that sounds awesome! So I guess Christen will be my study buddy, and you'll be my surfing buddy." Tobin asserted.

"Man, Kelley always get to be the fun one." Christen pouts, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Aw don't worry, we'll have plenty of fun together." Tobin winks at Christen. Christen's cheeks flush a little as she gulps down the last of her wine, trying to hide the smile creeping on her lips.

The girls bring their dirty dishes to the kitchen sink and Kelley volunteers herself and Christen to clean up since Tobin cooked for them. Tobin accepts and announces that she'll be in her room reading for class if they need anything.

Kelley and Christen stand side by side as they wash and dry the used dishes.

"I really like her. She's really chill and considerate and everything." Kelley states in a low voice so Tobin can't hear their conversation through the thin walls of the house.

"Yeah me too. She's really sweet. I hope she likes living here with us." Christen ponders aloud, dishes clinking as she puts them back into the cabinet.

"I mean, who wouldn't like this face." Kelley grabs Christen's cheek, pinching it before giving her a playful kiss on the lips.

Christen smiles as the two finish cleaning up the kitchen between teasing remarks and flirtatious touches.

As Christen puts the last plate in the cabinet, she feels Kelley's hands snake around her waist as she moves in to be flush against Christen's back. "Now, what's for desert?" Kelley whispers seductively in Christen's ear, taking the lobe between her teeth.

Christen spins around in Kelley's arms to stand face to face with the girl. "I don't know, what are you in the mood for?" Christen teases, playing along.

Kelley pushes Christen's body up against the counter. "Something sweet maybe. I could think of a few things." Kelley's eyes move up and down Christen's body as she bites on her bottom lip.

"Come on, why don't you show me what you have in mind." Christen leans in and takes Kelley's lip between her own. The taste of red wine still lingers there as she licks it off Kelley's stained lips. Christen breaks the kiss and grabs Kelley by the hand, leading her into their bedroom.

Christen tries to be considerate as she stifles the sounds of pleasure tumbling from her mouth, knowing Tobin is right next door. But as Kelley brings her to the edge, Christen can't control herself and uninhibited moans escape from her lips as she climaxes. Coming down from her orgasm, she hears Kelley snickering, making her way up Christen's naked body.

"So much for being quiet." Kelley laughs into Christen's chest.

"Sorry, I couldn't help it. I'm not used to having to be quiet." Christen half-heartedly apologizes.

"Well I guess we'll just have to keep practicing." Kelley smirks, kissing the soft breast beneath her lips.

"I hope we don't gross Tobin out." Christen says with a tinge of guilt in her voice.

"Oh come on, she's an adult. I'm sure she's heard it all before. She knows we're not in here braiding each other's hair playing with barbies." Kelley remarks sarcastically.

"Actually that sounds like fun. Can we do that?" Christen mocks enthusiastically.

"Hell no. I'd rather have you just like this." Kelley pulls Christen in for a slow, lingering kiss.

"We should probably get some sleep. We have our first practice early tomorrow morning." Christen hums, running her fingers along the freckled skin or her girlfriend.

"Ugh, don't remind me!" Kelley rolls off of Christen to the empty side of the bed, pulling a pillow over her face and groaning into it.

"Now who's the loud one?" Christen laughs.

***

Christen wakes to her alarm chiming obnoxiously the next morning. She quiets the phone and rolls over to see Kelley sprawled out, arms and legs sticking out of the sheets haphazardly. She gives the still sleeping girl a light kiss on the cheek before sliding out of bed to head to the bathroom. She opens the door to step out of the room and immediately bumps into another body.

"Oof, sorry my bad." Tobin croaks out in a raspy morning voice, rubbing her eyes with the heel of her hand.

"Oh, no I'm sorry. My fault--Uh, go ahead" Christen motions down the hallway.

"Thanks, I just need to pee and then I'll be out." Tobin states, eyeing the girl in front of her. She walks a few paces down the short hallway and slips into the bathroom.

Christen looks down and realizes she was standing in just a shirt and her underwear. Slightly embarrassed, she ducks into her room to grab a pair of shorts to cover up her exposed legs. Christen figures Tobin will likely see her undressed in the locker room, but there's something more intimate about being seen in your home in this state of undress.

Sliding the shorts up her legs, Christen walks into the kitchen and starts a pot of coffee, assuming everyone could use a little pick me up before practice. As the coffee pot finishes filling, Tobin joins Christen in the kitchen.

"Do you drink coffee? I made enough for all of us." Christen inquires.

"Yeah, can't start a morning without it. Thanks."

Christen grabs a mug from the cabinet and pours Tobin a cup. "Here you go. We have sugar and milk too if you want it." Christen offers as she makes herself a cup.

"Oh thanks. I actually just drink it black most of the time." Tobin says, taking her first careful sip of the hot liquid.

"What a hard ass." Christen teases. "I need a little milk. It's too bitter black." She opens the fridge and pours a touch of milk into her coffee, watching the colors swirl in her mug.

The two stand silently in the kitchen, leaning up against the counters across from each other as they sip on their coffee.

Christen breaks the silence. "So how'd you sleep? That futon may look like shit, but it's actually not too bad."

"Yeah the futon was fine. I had a bit of trouble getting to sleep at first though. It was a little noisy." Tobin grins devilishly at Christen.

Christen's cheeks turn a deep shade of red. "Oh my god, I'm no sorry. I'm so embarrassed." Christen brings her hands to her face, hiding behind them.

Tobin laughs heartily "Don't be. I've lived in dorms before, I've seen and heard it all. At least there's a wall between us."

"Morning guys, what are you talking about?" Kelley says as she strides into the kitchen rocking some crazy bedhead.

"Oh nothing much, just the bumps in the night." Tobin smiles as she takes a sip of her coffee, eyes darting toward Christen.

"Oh, she heard us having sex last night didn't she? Sorry man." Kelley states candidly.

"No, really, not a big deal. Do what you gotta do." Tobin offers with a grin.

"Can do." Kelley says, giving Christen a little pat on the ass. "You guys gonna be ready to go in like, 20 minutes?" Kelley asks as she pours herself a cup of coffee.

Tobin nods her head. "Sounds good to me."

The sun is just peeking from the horizon as the three girls make their way onto the field. The coaches stand near the benches as the team stretches and jog around, shaking the sleep and rust from their bodies.

The coaches go easy on the team since this is their first practice back, so they spend most of their time scrimmaging. Christen watches both the new and old teammates take touches on the ball and display their skills. Her eyes eventually land on Tobin whose skill is obviously leaps and bounds ahead of her teammates. She dribbles effortlessly between other girls as if the ball is connected to her foot with an invisible string. Christen marvels at her technical ability, glad that she doesn't have to play against her.

The coaches wrap up practice and dismiss the girls to the locker room so they can shower and get ready for their classes that day. Christen finds her locker and sees that Tobin's is right next to hers.

As they stand beside each other arranging their gear, Christen bashfully removes her sweat stained shirt and shorts next to Tobin, remembering their earlier run-in this morning. She sneaks a glance at Tobin's toned body as she too removes her gear. Her stomach is taught and her muscles contract beneath her smooth tanned skin as she moves about the area. Christen quickly averts her eyes so she isn't caught staring at her roommate.

Christen grabs her shower supplies and hops in an empty shower. As she lathers shampoo in her hair, she feels a slight draft and arms wrapping around her wet naked body. "Babe, you know you're not supposed to be in here with me."

After an unfortunate shower sex injury last year, the coaches had to instate a new rule designating no more than one persons per shower stall.

"I know, but you just looked so good running around out there, getting all sweaty and out of breath." Kelley says, peppering kisses along Christen's upper back with her arms still wrapped around her waist. "I thought I could help you get cleaned up."

Kelley's hands run over Christen's breasts, down her stomach to her core where Kelley's hands linger.

"Babe, I have a feeling if you try to help me clean up, I'll probably just end up leaving this shower dirtier than I came in. You should go to your own shower before we get in trouble." Christen contests, trying to hint to Kelley that she doesn't want to be part of another shower sex scandal.

Kelley sighs in surrender. "Fine, but we're finishing this later." Kelley gives Christen a brief kiss before grabbing her towel and exiting the shower stall to find her own.

Christen shakes her head and chuckles to herself, finishing her shower and turning off the water. She wraps her towel tightly around her body and heads toward her locker.

"She really can't keep her hands off of you huh?" Tobin says as they stand next to each other at their lockers.

"Ugh, sorry...again. I would say she's not usually like that, but she's always like that." Christen chuckles.

Tobin pulls a shirt over her head and gathers her wet hair into a messy bun, looking at Christen. "It's ok. I wouldn't be able to keep my hands off my girlfriend either if I had to watch her undress in front of me every day."

Heat spreads into Christen's cheeks and she averts her eyes from Tobin's. Christen can't decide if Tobin's comment was meant to come across as flirtatious as it did. Christen shakes the thought from her head and watches as Tobin closes her locker and swings her bag over her shoulder.

"I'll see you in class." Tobin gives Christen a smile and a wave before exiting the locker room.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's a little shorter, but I'll have another update soon!

In class, Tobin sits next to her again while they listen to the lecture. As they frantically try to take down everything the professor is saying, their hands keep running into each other.

"Sorry, curse of the lefty. We can switch places if you want so our hands don't keep bumping into each other." Tobin whispers beneath the droning of the professor.

"Oh it's ok. I can't really read what I'm writing anyway." Christen whispers back.

They share a stifled laugh and continue scribbling down notes.

As they exit the building together after class, Tobin speaks up before they part ways. "Hey, my last class ends at 4 today. Do you want to walk back to the house together?"

"Uh yeah sure. Can we meet outside of the library?" Christen offers.

"Yeah sounds good. I'll see you then. Have fun in class." Tobin waves as she turns to make her way to her next class.

The rest of the day drags on as Christen waits impatiently for her classes to end. When she is dismissed from her final lecture of the day, Christen bolts from her seat and makes a b-line to the library. As she gets closer, she sees Tobin's figure come into view, sitting on a bench. Christen grins and walks up to the girl. Tobin notices Christen and gets up from her seat on the bench and waves to the girl as she approaches.

"Hey, how was class?" Tobin asks as they begin walking in the direction of the house.

"So long. I couldn't wait to get outta there. How about you?"

"Same. I'm going to have to get used to these long days again. I forgot how tiring it is." Tobin sighs, grabbing the straps of her backpack as they walk.

"I know. And we didn't even have a hard practice this morning! It's gonna be hell once coaches ramp that up." Christen contends

"You're gonna have to help motivate me to keep up with homework or I'm gonna flunk out. Say goodbye to your third wheel." Tobin chuckles.

"Don't worry I won't let that happen. I'll stay up all night with you if that's what it takes." Christen says with a wink. Christen notices a shy smile form on Tobin's lips at this statement. As she reassesses her wording, she realizes the sexual undertones she may have inadvertently put into her phrasing.

"I mean, I hear that psych class is a killer, so we'll probably need to get some library time in you know." Christen tries to backtrack and smooth over her previous statement.

Tobin brings her hand up to rub the back of her neck. "Yeah totally. Good thing our meal plan works at the coffee shop too." Tobin jokes in an attempt to ease the tension undoubtedly felt by both of them.

When they get back to the house Kelley greats them with a shout. "Hey guys! I'm so glad you're back! I was getting bored here all by my lonesome." Kelley skips over to them, bringing them both into an uncomfortable three-way hug.

"Hey Kel, you're kinda squishing me." Tobin says, face smashed into the girl's arm.

"Oh right, sorry" Kelley releases Tobin from her vice grip and Tobin backs away, taking a much needed deep breath.

"Hey baby, how was your day" Kelley plants a kiss on Christen's lips with her arm still wrapped around her shoulder.

"Good, but long. I feel like my brain is just mush." Christen says, brushing her hair from her face.

"Well I was thinking we could go to the beach for a bit and just relax. You know, reward ourselves for a tough day." Kelley smiles looking back and forth between Christen and Tobin. "Eh, any takers?"

Tobin nods enthusiastically. "Yeah that sounds excellent. I'm in."

Christen chimes in. "Yeah me too."

Kelley claps her hands together in excitement "Alright! Get those beach bods ready. We're leaving in 10."

Minutes later, the girls emerge from their rooms changed and ready to go. Christen wears a flowy beach dress over her bikini while Tobin and Kelley opt for a tank top and shorts to cover up.

"Ok pile in the beach-mobile" Kelley announces.

The girls sling their bags and backpack in the back of the jeep.

"Shotgun! Tobin yells before Christen has a chance to hop in.

"Hey! Not fair, I didn't know we were playing!" Christen argues.

"Hey, rules are rules." Tobin says, smirking smugly as she climbs in the front seat.

"Babe!" Christen whines to Kelley.

"Rules are rules." Kelley repeats, shrugging her shoulders.

Christen surrenders and climbs in the back, making sure to give both girls a stink eye as she passes them.

Tobin and Kelley talk animatedly in the front, discussing music and surfing, while Christen sits in the back, feeling much like a third wheel. When they pull up to the beach, all three girls hop out and grab their bags, eager to get to the water. They pick out a spot away from the mobs of families trying to feed the seagulls, and place their towels on the ground.

Christen watches as Tobin removes her tank top, revealing a long toned torso and the swells of her breasts covered by a black bikini top. Christen feels suddenly hotter than she was before, but not from the beaming afternoon sun. Tobin unbuttons her shorts and slides them down her muscular legs before stepping out of them to expose her matching black bikini bottoms. Christen's heart beats faster in her chest and her tongue feels sticky sitting in her dry mouth. Christen takes a deep breath and averts her eyes before Tobin can catch her staring...again.

Tobin digs in her bag and pulls out a tube of sunblock. "Will one of you get my back for me."

"I will!"

"I will!"

Christen's words are echoed on her right side as Kelley also impulsively responds at the same time as Christen. Christen and Kelley look at each other with furrowed brows, both equally confused by the other's enthusiasm.

Kelley jumps up from her spot and grabs the tube from Tobin's hand. "I got you buddy." Kelley says as she lathers the white paste over Tobin's back.

A tinge of jealousy balls in Christen's stomach, unsure if she's jealous at her girlfriend's eagerness to rub her hands all over Tobin's body, if she's jealous that her girlfriend gets to rub her hands all over Tobin's body.

Displeased with the amount of attention Kelley is directing toward Tobin, Christen stands up and decides to gain her attention back. She gathers the bottom of her dress in her hands and lifts it up her legs slowly. Her hands weave beneath the fabric to carefully lift it up over her head, revealing her bikini clad body. She tosses the dress to the sand and adjusts the cups of her top, pushing her breasts together slightly. She swells with confidence as both girls turn to watch this display, mouths agape. She raises her arms to sweep her hair into a ponytail, popping one hip out as she flaunts her fit body shamelessly in front of them. She smiles to herself, knowing her exhibition has had the intended effect.

"I'm getting pretty hot. Anyone want to get in the water with me?" Christen says, looking between both girls.

Kelley nods her head vehemently. "Yup, right behind you."

Christen looks toward the brunette. "Tobin? You coming?"

Tobin stammers. "Um, I'm--er--I'm gonna chill on the beach for a bit. You guys go ahead."

"Ok suit yourself." Christen taunts, turning in the sand to give The girls a view of her best asset. "Come on Kel." Christen takes Kelley by the hand, leading her to the water.

After they make it a few yards away from the brunette, Kelley leans into Christen, giggling lightly. "Babe I think you may have short-circuited Tobin's brain."

"What do you mean?" Christen tries to sound naive, but knows exactly what Kelley's getting at.

"I think she liked that little show you put on for us. Can't say that I blame her. You look fucking sexy in that bathing suit." Kelley quips, playfully slapping Christen's ass.

"Oh come on, I did not put on a show." Christen says defensively, feeling a bit guilty that her actions were so transparent.

"Yeah ok, whatever you say." Kelley laughs sarcastically. "I'm not mad or anything. Actually, it's kinda hot that you have that effect on the ladies."

Christen blushes, knowing Kelley is more than a little turned on as they make their way into the ocean. Kelley's hands brush against Christen's skin as their bodies becomes hidden beneath the water. "And you know, Tobin's not too bad herself. You guys would be hot together." Kelley says, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

"Kelley!" Christen blurts out, shocked and slightly embarrassed by her girlfriends candid remark.

Kelley laughs at Christen's reaction. "What?! I'm just saying. You know I have that voyeuristic streak in me."

"Ew ok, drop it. She's our roommate. Behave yourself." Christen scolds, even though the same thought may have briefly crossed her own mind.

They bob together in the water, letting the waves carry their bodies in and out with the current. Kelley's words swirl in Christen's head, unsure what to make of them.

When they've swallowed enough salt water, the girls head back to the beach to dry off. The air cools as the sun begins to fall behind the ocean horizon.

"Wow, this is beautiful" Tobin says aloud, marveling at the sunset view. They stand together in silence, watching as the sun paints the sky orange and pink with it's final light.

"Come on, we should probably get back. I'm getting kind of cold." Kelley says.

Christen shivers as a breeze blows across her, covering her skin with goosebumps. She unceremoniously puts her beach cover-up back on and grabs her towel and bag. She looks over and sees Tobin bending over as she collects her things too.

Smiling crookedly, Christen shouts. "Shotgun!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this was kinda a build-up chapter for the next one. Not to hype it too much, but I think you guys will enjoy the next update :)


	3. Chapter 3

The week goes by in a whirlwind. Kelley, Tobin, and Christen fall into a comfortable pattern: waking up together for practice, seeing each other here and there on campus, and then cooking dinner and hanging out late into the night before starting the cycle again the next day.

When Christen gets back from class Friday afternoon, she comes home to find the house sparkling clean. Bewildered by this, she creeps into the house, searching for the source of this tidiness. She hears music coming from the kitchen and walks in to find Kelley with her body halfway in the fridge, cleaning it out.

Christen speaks up and makes her presence known. "Hey babe. Just curious, what are you doing and why is the house so clean?"

Kelley removes herself from the fridge. "Oh, I meant to tell you, I invited the team over for a little get together tonight."

"Kelley..." Christen groans, putting her head in her hands in frustration.

"I know, I know, I should have told you sooner, but there was so much to get done and I forgot. Don't worry, it's not gonna be a huge kegger or anything, just the girls, ok? Don't worry."

Three hours later, Christen finds herself in the middle of a full blown kegger. Music blasts from the television speakers, a beer pong table surrounded by strangers takes up the living room, and the house smells of cheap beer and weed. This isn't how Christen envisioned spending her Friday evening when she woke up this morning.

Sighing, she looks around to find her girlfriend. She pushes her way into the kitchen and spots her standing in a group of freshmen teammates, cajoling them into taking shots. Kelley's eyes light up when she meets eyes with Christen. "Christen, Christen, come here!" Kelley waves her over to come stand beside her. She wraps her arm around Christen's waist and gives her a kiss on the temple. "I know this isn't your jam, so thanks for being so cool about it."

Christen merely nods in response. Kelley hands Christen a shot glass filled with a clear liquor. "Here. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em right?"

Christen eyes the small glass and sighs, resigning herself to the fact that it'll probably take several more of these to get her to forget how frustrated she is with this whole situation. She scrunches her face and coughs as the drink burns down her throat.

"Atta girl." Kelley says, patting her on the back.

Several drinks later, Christen feels loosened up and is actually having a lot of fun chatting with her new teammates. With the party in full swing, people flow consistently in and out of the kitchen getting drinks and going outside to smoke on the back porch. Through the sea of people, she notices Tobin walking outside. Christen excuses herself from her current conversation and follows Tobin out to the back porch, drawn to her like a magnet.

Christen slides past a few people, walking up behind Tobin before taping her on the shoulder to get her attention. "Hey." Christen says simply

Tobin turns around with a burning blunt between her lips. She inhales, causing the ember at the end to glow orange. Bringing her fingers up to the joint, she removes it from her lips, wisps of smoke escaping from her mouth.

"Hey" Tobin chokes out. She cranes her head up and blows the smoke up to the sky. "How's it going?"

Christen smiles, feeling more than a little buzzed she watches the smoke dance through the brunette's parted lips. "Oh you know, it's going. I just thought I'd step out for a little fresh air, but you seemed to have foiled my plans."

Tobin winces, looking guilty. "I'm sorry. Does this bother you? Here, I'll put it away." Tobin looks around for a surface to extinguish the joint.

Christen chuckles and grabs her arm to calm the panicked girl. "No no, it's fine. I was just giving you a hard time. I don't mind at all."

"Ok, sorry." Tobin repeats her apology. "Uh, you want any?" She asks, offering the joint to Christen.

"Oh, actually I've never really smoked before. I'm not sure I'd do it right. I'd probably burn my eyebrows off" Christen laughs, mildly embarrassed by her naivety.

"Do you want me to show you? I mean, no pressure, but I can help you out if you want." Tobin offers.

Christen looks at the joint pinched between Tobin's dexterous fingers. She contemplates her options and meets the kind amber eyes and crooked smile of Tobin. Feeling a surge of rebellion and excitement coursing through her, she smiles back at the girl and rolls her eyes at herself. "Ok, fuck it. Yeah lets do it."

Tobin grins widely and claps her hands together. "Alright, welcome to the dark side!"

"I'm serious though, I don't want to singe off my eyebrows! Fire and I don't usually do well together." Christen jokes.

Tobin takes a moment, the gears turning in her head. After a brief pause, she speaks. "Do you trust me?" Tobin looks Christen straight in the eyes, expectantly and hopeful.

Christen smirks, wondering where she's going with this. "Uh, yeah I guess so."

"Ok, cus I'm going to need your full trust for this. Are you ready?" Tobin says grabbing onto Christen's shoulders.

Christen laughs "Yeah I'm ready."

Tobin takes a breath and continues. "Good. Ok, so this is what we're going to do. Since you're scared of the fire, we're going to do this thing called shotgunning. I'm going to light the joint and take the smoke into my mouth. Then I'll blow the smoke gently into your mouth, and you inhale it. Do you think you can do that?"

Christen swallows nervously and nods her head in the affirmative.

"Alright, here we go. Don't be nervous, I'm right here ok?"

Christen smiles, relaxing at this sentiment.

She watches as Tobin lights the end of the joint and takes a long drag into her mouth. Tobin takes a step closer and brings her free hand up to Christen's cheek, guiding her until their lips are inches apart. Christen instinctively parts her lips and inhales deeply as she feels the hot smoke leaving Tobin's mouth and entering her own. Christen's stomach does flips and she suddenly feels dizzy, unsure if it's the weed or her proximity to Tobin affecting her so greatly. Her hands inadvertently reach out for Tobin's waist to steady herself against the strong girl. Christen holds the smoke in her lungs and releases it slowly in a sigh, still inches from Tobin. Christen's eyes flit down to Tobin's lips, watching as the brunette brings her bottom lip between her teeth. With just a few inches, Christen could close the gap and take Tobin's lips between her own, but Tobin takes a step and leans back on her heel.

"How was that." Brown eyes bore into her green.

Christen swallows thickly. "I, uh--"

"Chris?"

Christen's shaken from her daze at the sound of her girlfriend's voice. She brings her eyes up, looking over Tobin's shoulder and sees Kelley standing at the edge of the porch. The look on her face is something Christen's never seen before.

Christen retracts her hands from Tobin's waist and gives Tobin an apologetic look. She sees Tobin's demeanor shift too, clearly feeling the similar guilt that Christen feels in the pit of her stomach. She takes in a breath to speak, but hesitates, unsure what to even say to the girl in front of her. Instead, she takes a step around Tobin and pushes past partygoers to follow Kelley who had retreated inside.

Christen squeezes through the crowds of people, unaware of the thumping music and dancing bodies around her in her state of panic. Her eyes focus solely on Kelley, following her as she darts into their bedroom.

She steps into the room and closes the door behind her, muffling the music and conversation of the party outside.

She takes a step toward her girlfriend. "Kelley--Kelley, I'm sorry. It wasn't what it looked like. I--She was just--"

Kelley interjects. "Did you kiss her?"

"No! No! She was smoking and was showing me, so..."

"Why not?" Kelley asks.

Christen pauses and furrows her eyebrows in confusion, caught off guard by Kelley's calm demeanor. She notices that not an ounce of anger paints Kelley's face. Rather, she looks legitimately intrigued, waiting expectantly for Christen's answer.

Christen stammers out. "I uh--we're together. I wouldn't do that to you." Christen says genuinely, still searching for what Kelley is thinking.

Just then, the door opens behind her and she whips her head around to see Tobin enter the room, looking guilty as hell. "Kelley, I'm sorry. Nothing happened. It's my fault, I put Christen in a weird situation."

Christen looks between Tobin and Kelley, waiting for a reaction from either of them.

Kelley takes a step away from Christen and looks at Tobin, smirking. "Tobin, it's fine. Christen's hot, I get it. I'd be offended if you didn't want to kiss her."

Tobin lets out a clenched, nervous laugh, unsure if Kelley's baiting her for something or about to punch her in the face.

"Tobin, come here. I want to show you something." Kelley curls her index finger to direct Tobin to come closer.

Christen watches as Tobin hesitantly complies and takes a few steps toward the couple until she stands next to both of them.

Christen feels Kelley bring her hand up to her cheek and pull her in for a slow, lingering kiss. Not expecting this, Christen kisses back aimlessly, still trying to figure out what she wants.

Kelley pulls back and looks over at Tobin. "I think you two should kiss."

Christen's eyes go wide. She looks swiftly to Tobin who looks just as shocked. Tobin clears her throat anxiously. "Uh Kelley, I just--we were smoking, I didn't mean anything by it."

Kelley interrupts "I'm serious. You think she's sexy right?"

Tobin stammers, reaching her arm up to rub the back of her neck. "Uh, yeah."

"And Christen, you think Tobin's hot right?"

Christen blushes "I mean, yeah. She is."

"Well all I'm saying, is I think it would be hot if you guys kissed." Kelley says, looking back and forth between the girls.

"Kelley, are you sure this is what you want?" Christen whispers shaking her head, genuinely concerned.

"I'm positive." Kelley says assertively.

Christen turns toward Tobin, searching her for an indication for how she feels about this rather unorthodox situation.

Christen's torn. She knows a part of her wants to feel Tobin against her, taking her lips between her own to taste her. And she knows that Kelley is deathly serious about this proposition, and will likely be very turned on by the whole experience. But Tobin is their roommate and teammate. This could completely ruin any platonic relationship they could potentially have together.

Suddenly, a remark from Tobin snaps her out of her internal debate. "I mean, I don't want to offend Kelley by not kissing you."

With this comment, Christen lets out a breath she's been holding tight in her chest. With this comment, Tobin gives her permission for this dance to continue, indicating that she's game for whatever the hell is about to happen. The combination of alcohol, weed, and sexual frustration swirl inside Christen, spurring her to give into her desire.

Fuck it.

She throws all caution to the wind and slowly leans in to press her lips gingerly against Tobin's.

The first thing she notices is how eagerly Tobin kisses her back. Tobin's lips rest against her own, sucking expertly on her top lip first, then moving to her bottom lip, fully experiencing the swollen pink flesh. Christen brings her hand up to Tobin's neck and grips it gently, guiding their kiss to increase the intensity. Christen opens her mouth and runs her tongue along Tobin's chapped lips, searching for entrance to taste the girl fully. Tobin complies, and their hot breaths mingle together for the second time that night. Christen plays with Tobin's tongue, licking the remnants of alcohol from her mouth. Their tongues dance together, taking turns sliding in and out of one another's mouths.

Christen's knees feel weak and her skin tingles delightfully just beneath the surface. She's never experienced a kiss quite like this before. She'd kissed Kelley multiple times a day for the past year, but there's something about the time and care Tobin takes in her kiss that feels somehow different. Kelley's kisses are rough and sloppy, always lustful and searching to lead somewhere more. But Tobin's is simple and careful, not in a rush to go anywhere, just enjoying the embrace for what it is.

Suddenly, Christen feels warm hands from behind her slipping beneath the hem of her shirt, gliding over her hips and stomach. Kelley presses her body against her back and Christen can feel Kelley's ragged breaths against her neck. Kelley kisses the back of her neck and down to her shoulder, hands fumbling all over Christen's torso and chest. All the while, Tobin continues her assault on Christen's lips.

Christen's nerve endings work overtime to take in the sensation of both girls attaching themselves to her.

Is this really happening?

Kelley removes one of her hands from Christen's body and Christen's lips are suddenly empty. She opens her eyes to search where Tobin had gone and finds Kelley's hand resting on Tobin's jaw , guiding her to Kelley's own lips as they kiss over Christen's shoulder.

She's never seen Kelley kiss someone else before. It's almost surreal watching her girlfriend and her...shit, she doesn't even know what to call Tobin anymore...kissing. Their lips collide together at a quicker pace than Christen had been experiencing just moments ago. She sees the familiar want in Kelley's reaction to Tobin and is left standing between the girls, dumbfounded and frozen, unsure of what to do with herself.

Urging herself to do something, she runs her free hands under Tobin's shirt, finally feeling the toned muscles that she had only been able to stare at before. Tobin's muscles contract beneath her touch as she breathes in and out heavily.

Gaining more confidence, Christen presses her body tightly against Tobin and plants her lips to the soft skin of Tobin's neck, running her tongue over the skin and sucking lightly. She feels vibrations in her lips as Tobin lets out a moan into Kelley's mouth, unsure if Tobin's reaction was elicited by her actions or Kelley's.

Clearly spurred on by this, Kelley's hands glide south to the top of Christen's jeans. Kelley fumbles with the top button and unhooks it before sliding her hand down the front of Christen's jeans hurriedly, cupping Christen over her underwear, fingers pressing into her center.

Now it's Christen's turn to let out a soft moan. Her mouth opens against Tobin's neck as she hums against the skin near her ear. Christen's lips feel Tobin's throat clench in a tight swallow, her breaths becoming labored.

The support of Tobin's strong body in front of her falls away as Tobin takes a step back from the couple, releasing her grip on Christen and detaching her lips from Kelley. Christen looks deeply into the honey brown eyes and recognizes the lust and desire burning between their gaze. But Christen notices the ghost of something else behind her eyes. Sadness? Remorse? Christen can't quite decipher this micro expression swimming just beneath the ocean of arousal in Tobin's face.

"You two have fun." Is all Tobin offers before she smirks and backs out of the room without so much as a backwards glance.

Christen stands in bewilderment with Kelley's hand still shoved down her pants as she watches Tobin exit the room. Her mind fumbles to catch up with what her body just experienced. What the fuck was that? Did that really just happen? She's brought back out of her head as Kelley bites on her ear.

"Fuck that was hot. Baby, I'm so turned on. I want you right now." Kelley groans out, clearly less affected than Christen by the strangeness of this whole situation. Well, Kelley was affected, but in a completely different way than Christen.

Kelley guides them to the bed and ravishes Christen's body, completely unconcerned with the party still going on outside their door. Christen enjoys the physical sensation, still experiencing the effects of her arousal. But her mind keeps drifting to Tobin and the confusion surrounding them, and she's unable to focus on the present.

Her mind is only half there as Kelley climaxes against her fingers, hovering above her. Christen kisses Kelley haphazardly as the red head falls on top of Christen, panting to catch her breath.

"Fuck, babe that was amazing. I love you so much." Kelley breathes out as she peppers kisses along Christen's cheek and temple.

Gathering her wits, Christen places a quick kiss to Kelley's cheek and clears her throat. "Um, babe, I'm going to go check on the party. Kick out the stragglers. Make sure no one's burned down the kitchen."

She wiggles from beneath Kelley and throws her clothes on. As she makes her way to the door, she's stopped by a quiet murmur. "You didn't say it back."

Christen turns around and sees sullen eyes staring back at her. Christen shakes her head in confusion. "What?"

Kelley speaks up louder this time. "You didn't say 'I love you' back."

Christen's heart melts at the sight of her girlfriend, looking so vulnerable and dejected. She walks back over swiftly and leans down to plant a sweet kiss on Kelley's lips. "Of course I love you."

Kelley's lips curl into a smile as she falls back onto the bed, closing her eyes. Christen smiles. How could she forget how gentle and sweet her girlfriend is. As she looks across the room at Kelley, a wave of guilt washes over her as the weight of their actions hit Christen like a brick wall. She quickly exits the room, unable to be amongst the source of her guilt a second longer. As the door clicks behind her she runs her hands across her face and through her hair. She whispers to herself, "fuck, what have I done."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, some of you called it :)


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning, Christen wakes to a splitting headache. Kelley lays next to her, arm draped over Christen's waist as she snores lightly into her pillow. Christen slides out from under Kelley and stands up, grabbing onto the side of the bed to steady herself. Her head pounds between her eyes and she brings her hand up to pinch the bridge of her nose between two fingers in an attempt to ease the tension in her skull, but to no avail. Christen sighs and exits the room in search of Advil.

As she pads into the kitchen, she squints through the bright lights and finds Tobin stuffing empty bottles and cups into a trash bag.

"Hey what are you doing up?" Christen croaks, her vocal chords still laced with sleep.

Tobin spins around and a small smile forms on her lips at the sight of the dark haired girl. "Hey, morning. Uh, I had to pee earlier and couldn't fall back asleep, so I figured I'd make myself useful."

"Yeah I woke up feeling like someone hit me in the head with a sledgehammer, so I probably won't be getting back to sleep either." Christen says, taking a seat at the kitchen table. "And stop cleaning. It's Kelley's fault we had a party, make her clean up after herself." Christen teases.

Tobin follows Christen's demand and puts the bag down off to the side before going to the kitchen cabinet. She pulls out a pill bottle and fills a clean glass with water from the tap. Tobin comes over and takes a seat next to Christen at the table, placing the items in front of her. "Here you go. Might help take the edge off." Tobin offers

Christen graciously grabs the bottle and pops two pills in her mouth before gulping down the water in front of her.

Tobin chuckles. "Now I see how you got so drunk."

Christen groans. "Ugh don't remind me. I'm never drinking again."

"Yeah, you had quite the night."

Christen looks up at Tobin's comment, investigating her body language and facial features to suss out whether or not the girl even remembers what happened between them. "Uh yeah, about last night. Tobin, I don't know what to say..."

"Then don't say anything. We were drunk. It was a party. We were just having fun, ok? No big deal." Tobin tries to say nonchalantly.

Christen searches her, remembering the small pang of regret on the girl's face the night before. She sees this minute expression again, though she knows Tobin is trying considerably to cover it up with a flippant attitude. Though she wants to delve deeper and draw out what's really lurking behind Tobin's eyes, her head hurts too much and her body is too tired to trudge through that emotional swamp at this point. Christen leaves it be for now, and merely nods her head in agreement.

"Yeah totally. I just didn't want you to be uncomfortable with anything that happened. That's never happened before so I'm not really sure what the rules are in those situations" Christen says, trying to act casual about it.

"No I get it. I've been there before. It can be kinda scary and confusing the first time." Tobin says as she get up to get her own glass of water.

Christen's brows furrow. "Wait, have you done that before?" Christen questions.

Tobin busies herself filling her water in the sink, not making eye contact as she replies. "I mean, yeah. My ex was kinda into that stuff. It's not like my go-to thing, but I can get into it if the circumstances are right."

Christen is floored. Her mouth drops open slightly as she imagines Tobin in other similar positions they had found themselves the night before. Christen wonders aloud. "So, last night wasn't like, weird?"

Tobin takes a drink of her water, leaning against the sink. "I mean, no not really. I was into it and just kinda went with it.... I had a good time." Tobin looks over and flashes a crooked smirk toward Christen.

Christen blushes, holding Tobin's gaze. "Yeah, me too." She couldn't believe how coolly Tobin's reacting to all this, as if she was completely unfazed. Christen on the other hand was still trying to wrap her mind around the events of last night and how she felt about her uncharacteristic sexual exploit.

Tobin sets her water down on the table and wipes her mouth with the back of her hand. "I'm gonna go to the store and grab some stuff to make for dinner tonight. Do you need anything while I'm out? Some gatorade?"

Christen smiles and nods her head. "Yeah a Gatorade sounds perfect actually." She says, grateful for Tobin's consideration.

Tobin grabs her keys from the counter and heads toward the door. "Ok cool. I'll grab one for Kelley too. Be back in a bit." She waves and closes the door behind her as she exits.

Exhausted from this onslaught of information, Christen's headache worsens, and she drags herself back to bed, hoping she'll somehow be able to rest and sleep off her hangover.

When Christen regains consciousness, she's surprised to find that she had indeed fallen back asleep. With her headache just an annoying sting at this point, she's thankful that her body was able to quickly recover. She looks over and finds Kelley sitting up with her back against the headboard, scrolling through her phone. Kelley notices Christen stirring and brings her hand to sweep stray hairs away from her girlfriend's face.

"Morning sunshine, or should I say afternoon. How do you feel?"

Christen groans and stretches out her arms and legs, repositioning herself to rest her head in Kelley's lap. "Not too bad. I was up for a little bit earlier this morning and felt like shit, so I came back to bed. But I feel better now."

"What were you doing up this morning?" Kelley asks, still stroking Christen's unruly hair.

"Oh, Tobin was in the kitchen when I went in there to get Advil...We kinda talked about last night."

Kelley's hand rests idly on Christen's head, now fully focused on their conversation. "What did she say?" Kelley asks keenly

"She said she was cool with what happened and it's not a big deal" Christen says flippantly. Then she remembers the other piece of that conversation and continues more animatedly. "Oh! Also, she says she's done that before. Isn't that kinda weird to think about?" Christen says, playing with a loose thread from their comforter.

"Huh, I didn't peg Tobin for an exhibitionist, but it works for me...obviously." Kelley chuckles at herself.

Her voice deepens "That was really hot last night, right?" Kelley returns her fingers through Christen's hair and strokes down her neck, tickling the skin beneath.

Christen smiles, recounting the memory herself. Tired of admonishing herself for something that Kelley wanted her to do, she gives in and admits to herself, and aloud, "Yeah. Yeah it was."

They pull themselves from bed and make their way into the living room, groaning upon seeing the mess in front of them. Gathering their strength, they take trash bags from the kitchen and gradually clean their way through the house, picking up spilled drinks, random articles of clothing, and a puka seashell necklace someone from the 90's is undoubtedly missing right now.

Christen walks into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water, grateful that Tobin had already done a decent job cleaning the room this morning. As she opens the fridge, she finds it fully stocked with groceries. Tobin must have come back from the store earlier and then disappeared somewhere while Christen was napping. She notices two Gatorade bottles in the fridge and grins at this little gesture. Christen grabs the two bottles and strides back into the living room to hand one to Kelley.

"Here you go babe." Christen says, handing over the bottle.

"Oh, nice. Where did this come from?" Kelley twists the cap off and immediately chugs down half of it.

"Tobin went to the store earlier and brought them back for us." Christen responds, opening her own.

"What a sweetie. We're definitely keeping her around." Kelley wipes her mouth with the back of her hand.

"Oh good to know you guys aren't sick of me yet." Tobin chuckles, overhearing their conversation as she enters the room from her bedroom. "I was about to start prepping for an early dinner you guys cool with that?"

"Oh yeah, definitely keeping her around." Kelley jokes

Christen and Kelley sit at the kitchen table while Tobin cooks, joking and talking about upcoming practices and games. Christen's amazed at how cavalier both Kelley and Tobin appear. Meanwhile, Christen can hardly concentrate on the conversation, still reeling from the night before, still trying to play catch-up and process her feelings about the night. Obviously she enjoyed it, but she can't quite pinpoint which part exactly is making her heart pound and her palms sweat whenever she thinks about it.

  
The week goes by in a similar fashion. Kelley and Tobin become even closer as they discover their mounting list of similar likes and dislikes, while Christen finds herself pulling away from both girls and retreating inside of herself. She finds herself dreading and actively avoiding interactions with Tobin now. She muddles through their class together, turning down every request for a study session in the library that Tobin offers. Things are just too weird between them. Every time they interact, Christen clams up and fumbles through their conversations awkwardly, unsure how she's supposed to act, or what she's supposed to say.

Meanwhile, things with Kelley had become more challenging too. The comfort and rhythm they had had as a couple just a week ago had suddenly vanished. She finds herself recoiling from her touch or making excuses to turn away from her advances. The look of dejection on Kelley's face pains Christen incredibly, but she can't help it. She's sure Kelley can sense it.

After an excruciating Thursday, Christen walks into the bedroom to find Kelley already in bed, dressed in her pajamas. She pulls the sheets back to make room for Christen to lay against her. Instead, Christen climbs in rigidly and lies straight on her back, limiting the contact between herself and Kelley. Kelley, sighs audibly.

"What's wrong?" Christen asks tentatively, though she thinks she can guess what's going through Kelley's mind.

"Nothing. It's just...I feel like there's something going on with you. You've been really distant and I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong."

Christen turns to look at Kelley apologetically. "No, you didn't do anything, I promise. I've just been kinda out of it this week I guess. I'm sorry, I didn't think you'd notice."

Kelley lets out a weak, sarcastic laugh "It's hard not to notice how you flinch every time I try to touch you. You'd think that I'd beaten you or something."

Christen's heart sinks. She didn't think she'd been that obvious about it.

Kelley continues. "I just--are you sure there isn't something else going on? You can talk to me, I'm your girlfriend."

Despondent, Christen turns away, unable to look Kelley in the eye. "No, it's fine. It's just been a rough week. I just need a good night sleep."

Kelley doesn't question her, and scoots in to spoon Christen. With her arm wrapped loosely around Christen's waist, her breathing deepens as she falls asleep easily.

Christen on the other hand lies awake, trying to blinks back tears that eventually overflow and cascade down her cheek. She resolves to push the thoughts of that night from her mind and double her efforts to get her relationship with Kelley back on track. Tomorrow. Tomorrow is a new day. I just need a good night's sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

At practice then next morning, Christen's tired mind flits from one daydream to the next. Her body goes through the motions on autopilot as she shuffles through drills. Suddenly, she feels a rush of wind as a ball goes streaking past her, nearly hitting her in the face and she's jolted from her thoughts.

"Watch it Press! What the hell are you doing?" A teammate yells at her.

Christen waves an apology toward the girl and jogs over to the sideline to grab some water. She squirts cool water on her face and shakes her head at herself. "Get outta your head."

Christen wipes the water from her eyes and catches Tobin looking at her with concern. Christen gives her a thumbs up in an attempt to appease Tobin's questioning eyes and convince her that everything was fine. Tobin merely gives her a half smile as she jogs off to complete her drill.

After showering and packing up her gear, Kelley comes over to Christen as she's packing her bag by her locker. "Hey babe, I gotta get to class." Kelley leans in and places a kiss on Christen's cheek. Without thinking, Christen's body tenses and becomes rigid at this contact. Shit.

Kelley retracts and sighs, dejected. "I'll see you back at the house later." She slings her bag over her slumped shoulders and trudges out of the field house.

Christen takes in a deep breath and runs her fingers through her hair, not wanting to deal with her emotions at this point. She finishes packing up her gear and closes her locker.

Christen looks over to find a freshly showered Tobin leaning against her own locker, scrolling through her phone. Without looking up from her phone, Tobin speaks "Hey, did you see that our class got cancelled so we can do 'independent research' for our paper due next week?"

"No I didn't. That's good news I guess."

"Well if we aren't having class, you want to go with me to the library to work on our papers? I haven't even started that thing."

"Oh--uh"

Tobin looks up from her phone and cuts Christen off before she can offer an excuse. "Oh come on, you haven't gone with me one time this whole semester. What happened to you being my study buddy?"

Tobin's eyes soften, pleading with Christen to change her mind. Christen lets out a sigh, knowing she hadn't done any work on the paper either. "Yeah ok. I should probably get started on it too."

Tobin's lips curl into a smile as she swings her backpack over her shoulder. "Dope. Ok I have a class before that, but I'll meet you in there afterward?"

Christen nods her head in the affirmative.

"Alright, see you later." Tobin spins around to exit the field house. As she pushes the door open, Tobin shouts across the room. "And try not to get hit in the face by anything while you're at it."

Christen smiles despite herself and makes her way out toward the library.

Three hours in, and Christen's table in the corner of the library looks like a tornado blew through. Open books are strewn across the table with notes scribbled on post-its, indicating important phrases or facts. Her computer whirs as it tries to cool down from the incessant google searches. Christen's headphones rest in her ears, playing a familiar study playlist she made last year. So entrenched in her little study bubble, she jumps when she feels a hand rest on her shoulder.

"Hey, sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." Tobin says with a laugh as she plops into the chair next to Christen.

Christen catches her breath and pulls the ear buds out of her ears and sets them on the table. "It's ok. I just didn't even see you."

"I'm sneaky like that." Tobin smiles

Christen gives Tobin a once over, taking in the sight of the girl. Her long brunette hair laying across her chest, the gray t-shirt draping across her broad shoulders, the muscles of her tanned arms twitching beneath the skin, and black joggers covering her strong legs as she brings them up to sit cross legged in the oversized chairs.

"How's the paper going?" Tobin asks as she rifles through her backpack.

"I'm just trying to organize all my references so I can make a good outline."

Tobin eyes the piles of books and papers strewn across the table and then looks back at Christen. "Organizing, yeah I can see that."

Christen lets out a chuckle, recognizing the mess in front of her. "Ok, well I know where everything is."

Tobin pulls out her computer but holds it above the table, unsure where to rest it.

"Oh, here, I'm sorry." Christen shuffles books and papers around to open up a space for the computer. Tobin sets it down and logs in.

"Thanks." Tobin responds as she clicks around her computer.

A silence falls between them as Christen tries to refocus her attention back to her work. Her concentration is thwarted though as Tobin whispers to her.

"So practice was...rough."

Christen bobs her head in agreement, not really wanting to discuss her poor performance earlier that day.

"I don't want to be intrusive, and just stop me if it's none of my business, but you've seemed out of it the last week or so. Is everything ok?"

Christen looks up from her computer and meets the neutral expression of Tobin. When she doesn't respond, Tobin continues.

"I don't know, I was talking to Kelley and she noticed it too."

"You talked to Kelley about me?" Christen blurts out, a tinge of hurt in her voice.

Clearly frazzled, Tobin tries to recover. "No I mean, she was just worried about you and asked if I had noticed you acting different too. It wasn't like, bad or anything. She just feels like you're being a little distant or whatever."

Blood starts rushing through Christen's body, fueling a mixture of anger and defensiveness. "Well I'm glad you guys have something to talk about when I'm not around."

"Chris, come on, it's not like that. She was just worried about you."

"No it's fine, I'm glad you guys are getting so close. Hey, at this rate, maybe I'll be the third wheel." Christen's voice biting with sarcasm

Tobin's demeanor changes as she sits up a little straighter to defend herself. "Look, I know you're still weirded out by what happened between the three of us last weekend, I get it. But Kelley just wants you to talk to her."

Christen scoffs, partially at how right Tobin is. "It's not about that, I'm not weirded out or whatever. And you're right, you are being intrusive. I know you like getting between us and all, but could you just butt out, it's none of your business."

Tobin leans back in her chair and stares at Christen, as if trying to look past the wall she had built up around herself. A beat passes and Tobin relents. "Yeah you're right. It's none of my business. Sorry, I shouldn't have said anything."

Christen softens a little at Tobin's genuine apology. "No I'm sorry, I shouldn't have snapped at you. You're just trying to help."

They sit together wordlessly for a few moments, both starting blankly at their computer screens. Suddenly, Tobin pops up from her seat. "Well if we're going to work on those papers, I'm going to need some coffee first. You want any? My treat."

Christen smiles at this peace offering. "Yeah sure. And could you--"

"Put a splash of milk in it? Yeah, sure."

Before Christen has a chance to respond, Tobin is already halfway across the room, practically jogging toward the coffee stand.

Christen smiles to herself. She remembered how she liked her coffee.

Back at the house, Christen and Tobin walk in to find Kelley down on all fours scrubbing the tiles of the kitchen floor. Incredulous about her cleanliness, Christen asks, "Kelley, please tell me you aren't preparing for another party."

Kelley looks up and abandons her sponge on the ground, wiping her hands on her jeans as she stands up. "No, I just felt like the house needed a good cleaning."

Christen furrows her eyebrows in confusion. "Are you feeling ok?" Christen walks toward Kelley and puts her hand across her forehead. Kelley never cleans unless there are large groups of people coming over.

Kelley grabs Christen's hand from her forehead and holds it in her own. "Yeah I'm fine. I just wanted to clean up for you. I know I haven't always been good about sharing the chores with you, so I wanted to start doing my part."

Tobin, who had been standing in the entryway of the kitchen, drifts from then room slowly, sensing she doesn't need to be part of this conversation.

Kelley shuffles closer to Christen so they stand inches apart. "Babe, I know you've been having a rough week, so I wanted to try and cheer you up. I want to take you out. Name any place and we'll go. Nothing's too good for my girl!" Kelley smiles intently at Christen.

Christen leans in and plants a sweet kiss on Kelley's cheek. "You don't have to take me anywhere. Can we just stay in and watch a movie or something? Wouldn't want to waste this clean house after all."

"Whatever you want babe. I just want you to be happy." Christen smiles at her beaming girlfriend and brings her lips to Kelley's, offering a slow, lingering kiss. It doesn't hold the same spark it used to, but Christen is grateful for this gesture, indicating Kelley's willingness to work on and invest in their relationship.

They end up ordering Chinese food and lounging on the couch watching Netflix. Midway through a movie, Tobin comes out from her room and mumbles something about going to the pitch before she hurries out of the house.

"Alone at last" Kelley says as she wraps her arm around Christen's shoulder. Christen leans into Kelley and rests her head on her chest. Kelley places a kiss on the top of Christen's head. "Now what are we going to do now that we have this wonderfully clean house to ourselves?"

Kelley's free hand finds its way up Christen's thigh, tickling the skin and giving Christen goosebumps.

Christen puts her hand on top of Kelley's to steady it. "Kel, do you think we could just relax tonight? I'm pretty tired."

"Oh, uh sure--Yeah that's fine." Kelley tries to mask the disappointment in her voice as she retracts her hand from Christen's leg.

They stay huddled together for the remainder of the movie and through another, but Kelley's affectionate touches are hesitant as she tries to figure out where the line is that Christen has drawn.

When the final credits of their second movie roll, Christen unfurls her body from the couch and stands up to stretch.

"I'm going to hop in the shower. Do you want to go to bed after that?" Christen asks as she stretches.

"Sure. Sounds good." Kelley responds as she too gets up and makes her way into their bedroom.

Christen picks up their empty takeout boxes left on the coffee table and throws them out. As she walks to the bathroom to shower, she sees Tobin's room still empty. Surely she isn't still at the field practicing. Christen didn't even see her take any gear with her when she left.

Christen steps into the bathroom and shuts the door behind her. She strips her clothing and turns on the water, waiting for it to warm before slipping behind the shower curtain.

As she rinses her hair, she hears the door to the bathroom creak open. "Babe, I'll be out in a minute." She says through the curtain. When she doesn't hear a response, Christen peeks her head out from behind the curtain and sees Tobin sitting on the toilet.

"Oh my god Tobin! You scared me!"

Tobin looks up, and Christen immediately registers Tobin's unfocused and droopy gaze. A goofy grin is plastered onto Tobin's face as she slurs out, "Hey Chris! Sorry, I just reeeeally had to pee. I'm not trying to sneak a peek or anything, unless Kelley wants me to or something." Tobin draws out a laugh and pulls up her pants, fumbling to find the button as she sways standing up.

Christen quickly shuts off the water and wraps her towel around herself securely before stepping out to help Tobin stay upright. "I thought you went to the field. How did you end up like this?" Christen asks as she leads Tobin into her room.

Tobin stumbles around as she ungracefully strips off her shirt. "Oh I made a bit of a pit stop at The Bottle. Soccer just wasn't doing it for me tonight." Tobin continues to undress herself and Christen takes this as a cue to search through Tobin's dresser for a shirt and shorts for her to put on.

As she digs around the dresser drawer, Christen continues her questioning. "What do you mean soccer wasn't doing it for you tonight?"

"I meeeaaan, soccer wasn't making me feel better, so I went for a drink. Isn't that the cliche? Go sulk at a bar alone when you're sad?"

"I think you had more than a drink." Christen mutters to herself. "Wait, you're sad? What's wrong?"

Tobin stumbles over to Christen, still half naked in her bra and underwear. She puts a hand on Christen's bare shoulder. Christen can smell the liquor on Tobin's breath as she speaks. "Christen, Christen, Christen. If only you knew the irony of this situation." Tobin lets out a laugh and takes the clothing out of Christen's hands.

"What's going on?" Kelley asks, appearing in the doorway of Tobin's room.

"She's plastered." Christen says, trying to wrangle Tobin onto the futon.

"Yeah I can see that. What happened?"

"I don't know, she went to The Bottle cus she was upset about something." Christen says over her shoulder.

"What's she so upset about that she's getting hammered at a bar alone like a cliche movie character?" Kelley asks sarcastically

"See, I told you people do that!" Tobin shouts, pointing toward Kelley.

Kelley laughs, but Christen doesn't find the situation quite as humorous, rolling her eyes at Kelley's insensitivity. "Babe, can you grab a glass of water and Advil for her? She's in for a rough morning."

Kelley sighs and relents. "Yeah, yeah. Hold on."

As Kelley leaves, Christen squats next to the bed and strokes Tobin's hair, trying to soothe the girl as she lays on the futon.

With her eyes closed, Tobin mumbles sleepily. "Mm I like your hands in my hair. Feels nice."

Christen smiles at the childlike vulnerability of Tobin in this moment.

"Will you lay with me?" Tobin whispers

Christen lets out a sigh. "Tobin, I don't think that's a good idea."

Tobin opens her eyes and repositions herself, making sure Christen's hand stays tangled in her hair. "I know, I just miss feeling you." Tobin sighs, crestfallen.

"I'm right here, what do you mean?" Christen asks as she leans in closer, intently focused on getting an answer. But before Tobin can respond, Kelley comes in with a glass of water and pills which she sets on the desk nearby.

"Here you go champ. Take these and call me in the morning." Kelley says, patting Tobin on the back. "Come on Chris, lets leave her alone so she can sleep."

As Kelley exits toward her own room, Christen retracts her fingers from Tobin's hair and stands up. "You going to be ok?"

Although this simple question refers to her immediate physical wellbeing, Christen hopes that Tobin picks up on the intended deeper meaning, even in her inebriated state.

Tobin swallows roughly and sighs. "Yeah, I'll figure it out." Her eyes close as she rolls over away from the prying eyes of Christen.

"Goodnight Tobin"

Christen pauses in the doorway for a response, but gets none. She flicks the lights off and closes the door before heading to her own room.

Christen puts on pajamas and crawls into bed next to Kelley

"What was that about?" Kelley questions

"I'm just as confused as you are." Christen responds before drifting to sleep

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys have been awesome! I love reading your comments and speculations.


	6. Chapter 6

Christen stands in the kitchen the next morning cooking eggs and bacon, per Kelley's request. Kelley had gone on a morning jog and insisted that the only way to build muscle was to eat a ton of protein immediately after exercising. As the bacon sizzles, Christen hears a commotion coming from the hallway. The sound of mumbled curses stream from the hallway as Tobin ambles into the kitchen looking like hell. Baby hairs rebelliously fly away from her pony tail and her eyes are blood shot and puffy, squinting through the light of the kitchen.

"Uh, hi. How do you feel?" Christen asks hesitantly.

Tobin groans loudly as she falls into a chair, hunched over on the table with her head buried in her arms.

"That bad huh?" Christen says through a wince. "How did you even get home last night?"

Tobin props her head up with her hand to her forehead. "Fuck if I know. I don't even remember leaving the bar. But judging by the blisters on my feet and the muddy shoes, I'd say I probably walked."

"Jeez Tobin, that's like two miles from here."

"Least I got some cardio in I guess."

"So you don't remember getting home last night?" Christen queries

"Nope"

"And you don't remember walking in on me in the shower?"

"Fuck. I did that? Chris, I'm so sorry. I was a mess last night. Please tell me I didn't do anything else embarrassing?"

Christen hesitates, wondering if she should even bring up Tobin's cryptic bedside confessions. As Tobin looks expectantly at her, Christen decides against it, reasoning Tobin already feels bad enough. "No, you were just drunk and slurry. It's ok."

Relief washes over Tobin's face and she reclines back in her chair. "Man, I'm sorry. Thanks for taking care of me last night. I owe you one."

"Really, it was no big deal. You would have done the same for me."

Tobin simply nods as they hold each other's gaze. Christen looses track of how long they stare at each other, but her focus is broken when Tobin clears her throat and looks past her. "Hey, uh, you might want to flip that bacon if you don't want it to be extra crispy."

Christen jolts from her relaxed stance and turns around swiftly. Sure enough, the bacon looks a touch overdone and she quickly fights through popping grease to turn the pieces over in the pan.

Christen finishes cooking and makes a plate for Tobin and herself. She brings them over to the table and sits with Tobin, watching as she wolfs down her breakfast. "Slow down! I don't know the Heimlich maneuver!" Christen laughs.

Tobin swallows her giant mouthful of food. "Sorry, I didn't realize how hungry I was. Thanks for cooking."

Their exchange is interrupted by the front door slamming shut. Christen jumps at the noise and sees a panting Kelley walk into the kitchen, her body glistening with sweat. Christen smiles watching Kelley lift her shirt to wipe her face, a habit she'd developed when she discovered the effect it had on Christen. There was something about seeing Kelley soaked in sweat and exhausted that made Christen inexplicably turned on. They may not be on the best of terms, but Christen can still appreciate a beatiful body when she sees it. 

"Hey you." Kelley says with a charming smirk, leaning in to plant a kiss on Christen's lips. Kelley pulls away and gives a wink to Christen before directing her attention to Tobin.

"And here's our champion, in the flesh! I wasn't sure you'd make it last night buddy."

Kelley pats Tobin roughly on the back, causing Tobin to choke a little on her eggs.

"She won't be alive long if you keep making her choke on her breakfast." Christen jokes.

"Sorry. You ok?" Kelley gives a squeeze to Tobin's shoulder.

Still swallowing a mouthful of food, Tobin gives her a convincing thumbs up.

"Alright good. Glad my girl took care of you last night. I'm getting used to having cheaper rent checks so don't go dying on us."

Kelley turns back toward Christen and gives her another quick peck on the lips. "I'm gonna hop in the shower and then I'll come eat ok?"

Christen nods her head and watches Kelley walk out of the kitchen, taking note of the tight spandex covering her ass.

Shifting her attention, Christen grabs her empty plate and sticks it in the sink, turning on the water to start cleaning up.

"Hey don't do that. You cooked, I'll clean." Tobin says, rising from her seat to bump Christen away from the sink.

"You sure?"

"Yeah of course. It's the least I can do." Tobin grins widely at Christen, shooing her away from the dishes.

Christen backs up and watches as Tobin takes over dish duty. Reasoning that there's nothing more she can do, Christen heads down the hallway toward her room. She stops at the door of the bathroom and listens to the sound of the shower running. She bites her lip, knowing this is definitely going to be sending Kelley mixed signals, but the wetness between her thighs overrides her sense of consideration and logic as she opens the door to the bathroom.

The room is steamy and she closes the door quietly behind her.

"Christen?" Kelley calls from behind the curtain

"Yeah it's me." Christen slides her jeans off and pulls her shirt up over her head

"Is everything ok?"

"Yeah, I just thought I'd join you. Is that ok?" Christen removes her underwear and unhooks her bra, letting it fall to the floor.

"Yeah of course."

Christen pulls the curtain back and steps into the shower. Kelley gives Christen a once over, looking her body up and down.

"Hi" Kelley smirks

"Hi"

They waste no time on foreplay, both sufficiently sexually frustrated enough that the don't miss it.

Kelley pushes Christen back against the cool tile of the shower. Christen gasps at the temperature change, but her mouth is quickly covered by Kelley's as she kisses Christen hungrily.

Christen feels Kelley's warm hands roam all over her body, finally landing one hand on her ass and one on her breast. Kelley's hand palms Christen's chest before focusing her attention on Christen's nipple. Despite the heat of the shower, Christen's nipple peaks against Kelley's fingers as she grazes and pinches the puckered skin beneath her fingertips. Christen lets out satisfied moans as her body responds significantly to Kelley's familiar touch. After a year of being together, Kelley had learned the tricks to thoroughly fuck her.

Kelley removes her hand from Christen's breast and glides it down her stomach to her center. Christen feels her arousal dripping down her leg as Kelley's fingers dance at the source. She slides her fingers through Christen's silky folds as Christen's breathing becomes ragged.

Kelley's fingers glance over Christen's clit and she can't hold herself together anymore. Christen releases a moan from the back of her throat as her hips buck wildly into Kelley's hand. She wraps her arms tightly around Kelley's shoulders to hold herself up since her legs were slowly turning to jelly.

"Fuck, right there. Don't stop." Christen can hardly get out the words, desperately urging Kelley to continue.

Kelley's hand still grabs onto Christen's ass, and guides Christen's hips to thrust against her other hand, increasing the friction on Christen's clit.

Christen gasps for breath, feeling herself reaching the edge as her muscles all tighten together. Kelley's lips attach to Christen's neck and she bites down hard, moaning against her throat.

Christen suddenly sees stars as she unravels. Her body quakes as her orgasm spreads from her center outward to her limbs. She melts against Kelley, relying on the girl to hold her up while she regains the composure needed to stand.

"Fuck that felt good." Christen sighs into Kelley's ear as her legs start taking some of the weight off her girlfriend.

"Good. I think you needed that." Kelley smiles

"Mmmm" Christen hums in agreement, dropping her arms from Kelley and running her hands through her damp hair.

Kelley kisses Christen chastely and pulls the curtain back to step out of the shower.

Christen grabs Kelley by the arm. "Hey, where are you going?"

"I was actually done when you got in, so I'll let you have the shower all to yourself."

"What about you?" Christen looks at Kelley questioningly.

Kelley leans back into the shower and plants a kiss on Christen's temple. "How about I cash it in later."

Christen merely nods her head as Kelley pulls the curtain back, giving Christen privacy as Kelley leaves the bathroom.

As the post orgasm euphoria wears off, Christen is left feeling hollow. Though her lust was directed at Kelley, Christen feels somehow less connected than ever to the girl. The act that had once brought them so close, suddenly lacks meaning. Sex had always been their way to reconnect and reset after an off period, but this time, Christen doesn't feel reset or reconnected. She just feels...empty.

After ten minutes, she urges herself to get it together and hurriedly finishes her shower. Stepping out, she dries herself off and wraps her towel around her before opening the door to the hallway.

She immediately runs into a firm body.

"Oof, sorry" Christen immediately apologizes.

She looks up and meets the amber eyes of Tobin, who looks...off. The usual spark behind her eyes is dimmed and her muted expression catches Christen off guard.

"Are you ok?" Christen asks gently.

Tobin nods, her expression changing to look more stoic "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" She says defensively.

Christen, taken aback by Tobin's somewhat abrasive tone, and stammers "Oh, uh no reason." Christen gives Tobin a once over and notices she had changed from her typical soccer gear into a pair of ripped jeans, black v-neck and SnapBack. "You going somewhere?" Christen questions.

"Yeah, uh- I have a date actually." Tobin avoids Christen's gaze.

"Oh! Good for you." Christen tries her best to sound enthusiastic. "Well you look really nice." She offers with a smile.

"Thanks." They stand in the hallway awkwardly a moment. "Can I just-- I need to get into the bathroom. You mind?"

"Oh! Sorry. Of course." Christen steps to the side, letting Tobin slide past her. As she walks into the bathroom, Christen takes in the familiar scent of Tobin's perfume.

Christen opens her mouth to offer words of encouragement, but decides against it, knowing they'd likely come off disingenuous. So Christen just watches as the door closes behind Tobin, releasing them from this tense exchange.

As she walks in her room, she finds Kelley pulling her hair into a wet bun. "Hey Chris?"

Christen walks to their dresser, opening the top drawer to pick out fresh underwear "Yeah?" She says with her back still toward Kelley.

"Uh, I was wondering if we could talk." Kelley says with trepidation.

Christen sighs and turns to look at Kelley. "Babe, can we just-- just not tonight maybe?"

Kelley bites the inside of her cheek and nods her head. "Yeah, no that's fine. But soon?"

Christen nods. "Soon."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You asked for it, you got it! All day breakfast is finally here... oh I mean, Tobin meets another girl. We'll see how this plays out.


	7. Chapter 7

The next day Christen sits in class tapping her pen impatiently, her mind too occupied to get anything out of the lecture as she stares blankly ahead.

"Uh Chris, do you think you could stop tapping your pen? I think it's pissing off half the class." Tobin whispers, leaning over toward Christen.

Breaking from her trance, Christen looks around the room and sure enough, a good portion of the class is giving her a death glare. Christen grimaces and turns back around, blood rushing to her cheeks. She sets her pen down on the table and puts her hands in her lap to try and control them.

She sits idly for the remainder of class, slouching low in her chair, wishing she could be anywhere else. When the professor dismisses them, Christen bolts from her seat and rushes out of the building.

"Chris, wait!" She hears Tobin yell from behind her.

Christen stops outside of the building and spins around to find Tobin chasing after her frantically. Tobin catches up with her, breathing a little heavy from her pursuit. "Hey! What the hell! You just gonna ignore me all class and then leave without saying bye?"

"Sorry. I've just had a lot on my mind today." Christen apologizes genuinely.

"I can tell. Do you want to talk about it?" Tobin offers

Christen frowns a bit and looks at her feet. "I'm not sure you're the right person to talk to about it." She mumbles

"Oh come on, how bad could it be?" Tobin asks incredulously.

"It's about Kelley." Christen states bluntly

"Oh. Well--" Tobin's train of thought comes to a halt as she turns this information over in her head. "Why don't we get some coffee and you can tell me about it."

"That's really sweet of you Tobin, but I have class in ten minutes"

Tobin lets out a sarcastic laugh. "Right, like you're even going to be able to pay attention in that class. Skip with me. I want to talk with you." Tobin's eyes light up in a convincing smile

"Are you sure? I don't want you to feel weird or like you're getting in the middle of us or something." Christen says, giving Tobin an excuse to change her mind.

"I'm sure. Come on, let's go find a table before the afternoon rush hits."

In the coffee shop, they sit quietly, watching the endless flow of people coming in and out. It's peaceful being anonymous in this sea of students. Christen could sit there all day people-watching, sipping coffee quietly in the corner of the room as people appear in and out of her awareness.

"Have you ever thought about how crazy it is that there are literally billions of people in this world, and every one has their own story, their own set of experiences, and problems, and drama. Like, these people in this coffee shop aren't just extras in my life, they have a whole life of their own that I'll probably never know about. It just makes me feel so self-centered, or selfish even, that I'm so wrapped up in my own life when there are billions of other people going through worse shit."

Tobin takes a slow sip of her coffee, contemplating Christin's statement. "I don't know, I think we're programmed to be a little self-centered, as like, a coping strategy. If we always worried about everyone else's story, we wouldn't have time to write our own. I don't think that's selfish, I think that's just how life works."

Christen maintains her gaze out the window. "Maybe. I just feel like I get so caught up in my own shit sometimes and forget that the way I live my life affects other people."

"Like Kelley?"

Christen looks down at her coffee, unable to meet Tobin's gaze for fear of falling apart in front of her.

With her hands wrapped around her coffee mug, she feels the cool hand of Tobin wrap around her forearm, giving her a gentle, reaffirming squeeze. "Hey, it's ok. What's going on?"

Christen glances up, capturing Tobin's kind eyes with hers. Christen feels her walls lower, not completely, but enough to gather her courage and verbalize what she had only thought about in her head to this point.

"We had sex yesterday" Christen blurts out

Tobin scoffs. "Yeah, I figured you weren't in there helping her rinse the shampoo out of her hair." Tobin states flatly, retracting her hand from Christen's arm.

Discombobulated, Christen shakes her head, trying to organize her thoughts. "Ok, right. Sorry, let me start over. So we had sex yesterday, but I didn't want to be with her."

Concern washes over Tobin's face. "Chris, did she force herself on you? If she did I--"

Christen shakes her head vehemently. "No no no, it wasn't like that. Sorry, this is the first time I've said this out loud so I'm not sure how to get out what's in my head." Christen runs her fingers through her hair, clearly frazzled.

"It's ok, take your time." Tobin offers calmly

Christen takes a deep breath and centers herself before starting again. "I initiated it last night, but like, as we were doing it and then afterward, I just felt numb about it. Like I wanted to have sex, but just--not with her."

Christen can feel her heart beating rapidly in her chest as she waits for a response from Tobin. After a moment, Tobin speaks. "Well maybe you were just having an off night or something."

"No, see that's the thing. It's not just the sex, it's everything. Everything's been off lately."

"Well, have you talked to her about it?"

Christen sighs and stirs her coffee idly. "I mean, no not really. I thought things would get better and I didn't want to bring it up and make her upset."

"Chris, can I be honest with you?"

Christen nods her head weakly.

"I think she knows something is up. Maybe if you just talk to her about it, you guys can work out whatever it is that's going on. If it were me, I'd want to know if you were unhappy so I could try to make it better."

Christen looks up, giving Tobin a weak half smile. Tobin's gentle expression and calm demeanor break Christen and the emotions she had worked so hard to dam up begin to trickle out.

"I don't know if she can make it better at this point. And I don't know if I want her to. "

Crestfallen, the levies break and Christen feels her stomach drop and her chest tighten at this realization. Her throat clenches to hold back tears, but it's a futile act. Her eyes blink away hot tears as they trail down her cheek to the corner of her mouth.

Tobin brings the sleeve of her jacket up to Christen's face, wiping away the wetness on her cheek. "Hey it's ok. It's gonna be ok. You don't have to have everything figured out right now."

Christen sniffles and rubs the remaining tears from her eyes and nods her head, acknowledging Tobin's sentiment.

They sit silently together as Christen regains her composure. After several minutes, Tobin brings her hand up and runs it down the length of Christen's arm to grab her attention. "Hey, you ready to get out of here?"

Christen nods in response and they wordlessly pack up their belongings and walk out of the shop toward their house.

As they leave the familiar confines of campus, Christen stops on the sidewalk.

Noticing Christen is no longer next to her, Tobin stops and spins around. "What? You ok?" She takes a few steps back toward Christen until she stands in front of the girl.

Without warning, Christen throws her arms around Tobin and brings her into a tight hug. Standing on her toes, she whispers in Tobin's ear "Thank you."

Tobin hugs her back, wrapping her arms around Christen's waist, pulling her in closer. Christen knows these two words can't possibly express Christen's complex and convoluted feelings toward the girl, but she hopes that Tobin understands that in this moment, she is truly grateful for her, in whatever capacity Tobin is willing to offer.

When they make it back to the house, they find Kelley sitting in the living room watching tv. Tobin gives Christen a reassuring look and leaves the couple, heading out the back door to give them some privacy.

"Hey Kel." Christen says meekly as she goes to sit down next to Kelley on the couch.

Kelley's gaze remains on the tv, not acknowledging Christen's presence.

"Can we talk now?" Christen says in a half whisper.

Kelley looks over at Christen "Yeah I guess."

Christen takes a deep breath, gathering her courage to start. "Kelley I--I know I haven't been--I've been distant."

Kelley frowns and looks down at her hands "I would agree, but then yesterday when you got in the shower with me... I don't know Chris, you're kinda throwing me through a loop with all this 'come here go away' stuff"

Christen nods her head. "I know, I'm sorry. I'm trying, Kel. I'm trying really hard."

Kelley scoffs. "See that 's the thing, we never had to 'try' before. It's like--all of a sudden a flip switched and I can't even touch you without you wincing."

"I know, I don't know what happened.."

"I do." Kelley locks eyes with Christen. "Ever since that night--with Tobin-- you've been different. I'm not stupid Chris, I know that's why. What I can't figure out is if it's my fault, if my stupid mouth ruined this, if that stupid stunt ruined us."

"Kelley, no. It's not your fault. It's me. I don't know what's going on with me."

There's a long silence between them. Kelley looks back toward the tv. "Do you like her?"

Tears start forming in Christen's eyes as her face twists in anguish. She wants to reassure the girl before her, but words of comfort escape her. She can't lie. All the emotions that had been simmering beneath the surface for the past several weeks suddenly bubble up and overflow.

All Christen can manage is a silent nod, confirming what Kelley had feared, what she herself had feared too.

Kelley closes her eyes and leans over, putting her head in her hands.

Christen puts a hand on Kelley's back, fighting the urge to cry through a clenched throat. "Kel, I'm sorry."

Kelley shrugs Christen's hand off of her and stands up. "Just, don't. I need some time to process this."

Kelley grabs her backpack from the nearby love seat and goes toward the front door. Before she can leave, Christen's feeble voice stops her. "Where are you going?"

Without looking back, Kelley responds. "I don't know. I just need to get out for a while."

With that, Kelley walks through the front door, closing it roughly behind her. Any semblance of composure leaves Christen and she crumbles into the cushions of the couch. Tears streak down her cheeks and she gasps for air. Is Kelley gone? The girl who had been her best friend since freshman year and her girlfriend for the past year, did Christen just lose her?

The thought of losing Kelley overwhelms Christen and she falls to her side, bringing her legs up to her chest in the fetal position, sobbing.

Christen hears the back door open after a few minutes. She hurriedly sniffles and wipes tears and snot from her face, trying to get herself together before Tobin can see her ugly crying.

"Hey, are you ok?" Christen looks up to find Tobin standing in the doorway of the kitchen. Her brows are furrowed in concern, eyes gently scanning Christen's face. At the sight of this, Christen crumbles all over again.

Tobin rushes over to sit next to Christen, collecting her in her arms. Christen falls into the brunette's chest, clinging to her and staining her shirt with wet tears.

"Shh, it's ok, it's ok. I got you." Tobin brings her hand up to stroke Christen's hair.

They sit like this for several minutes as Christen cries into Tobin, knowing it's probably not the most appropriate thing to do, given the circumstances, but she's grateful for the small comfort none the less.

After the tears die down, Christen sits up from Tobin's embrace and wipes her hand across her face. "I'm sorry, I'm a mess today. You shouldn't have to coddle me like this, especially not twice in one day."

"No it's fine, really. Do you want to talk about it?"

"To be honest, no, not really, not right now anyway. I don't think I have the energy to process things at this point."

Tobin bobs her head silently. They sit together wordlessly. Christen picks at her cuticles numbly, trying to focus on her breathing like she does in yoga.

Tobin clears her throat and breaks the silence. "Come on, lets get out of here." Tobin hops up from her seat, motioning for Christen to get up too.

"Where are we going?" Christen questions.

Tobin shrugs. "You need to get out of here, get your mind off things for a bit."

Silently agreeing, Christen stands up and puts her hair up in an attempt to look somewhat presentable. "Are you at least going to tell me what I should wear on this outing?"

Tobin gives her a once over and smiles. "You'll be fine in that." Tobin looks around the room. "Hold on, I just have to get a few things and then we can go. Stay right there."

Tobin rushes down the hallway into her room. Christen can hear her shuffling around behind the closed door. Moments later, she emerges with a backpack and a grin on her face. "Ready to go?"

Christen nods apprehensively, but follows Tobin out the front door anyway.

They walk down the sidewalk away from campus with Christen still trying to figure out where Tobin is taking them. Suddenly Tobin takes off running.

"Tobin! What the hell?! Where are you going?!" Christen yells toward the sprinting girl.

Tobin turns around, jogging backward to face Christen. "Come on we gotta catch that bus! I thought you were supposed to be fast!"

With that taunt, Christen smirks and bursts into a full sprint after Tobin. Tobin sees Christen rushing toward her and spins to start running again. Christen catches up to Tobin and they run together stride for stride for two blocks until they make it to the stop on the corner where a bus is waiting.

Tobin hops on the bus first and pulls out a couple of dollars from her pocket to pay their fare. Christen follows her toward the back of the bus and finds two empty seats as the bus starts off.

They laugh unabashedly together, still panting to catch their breaths.

"So you're taking me on the bus?" Christen jokes

"Patience! This is just a means to get there alright?" Tobin defends herself.

As Christen sinks into her surroundings, she realizes that Tobin had plopped down with her arm resting on the back of Christen's seat. Her hand lightly grazes the top of Christen's arm with every bump in the road, but Tobin doesn't seem to notice.

A few stops later, an older woman gets on the bus and passes them, giving the girls a sweet smile. "What a cute couple" she says to the girls.

Christen immediately turns pink, stumbling over her words, "Oh, no--we're not--she's just..."

"We're just friends." Tobin interjects

The woman raises her eyebrows in surprise. "Oh, my mistake! Sorry about that. You must be very close friends." She gives them a nod as she walks past them to find a seat.

Tobin swiftly retracts her arm from the back of Christen's seat and readjusts as the share an awkward silence, neither daring to make eye contact with the other.

Several minutes later, the bus lurches to a stop and Tobin gives Christen a tap on the knee "Come on, this is our stop."

They rush out of the bus and onto the sidewalk. Christen looks around and notices seagulls floating around the sky above them, surmising they must be near the beach. Sure enough Tobin leads them across the street and over a small hill until they overlook a sandy beach and rolling waves. Tobin immediately removes her tennis shoes and Christen follows suit, holding them in her hand as they walk down to the shore.

"This is where I wanted to take you." Tobin says as their feet hit to hot sand. "I used to go to the beach when something was bothering me or I just needed to think. It's peaceful being by the ocean I think."

Christen nods her head in agreement. "It is peaceful. The sound of the water, the smell of the salt. I like it."

Without speaking, the two begin walking aimlessly along the beach, letting the water hit their feet as waves roll in and out.

After a few minutes, Christen breaks the peaceful silence. "Kelley's really pissed at me."

Tobin bobs her head as they continue walking. "Yeah?"

"And you were right, she knew something was wrong, but I think she just needed me to confirm it or whatever."

Tobin remains expressionless but nods along for Christen to continue.

"So now she's pissed and I don't know if she wants to break up or what's going to happen."

"What did she say before she left?" Tobin asks

"That she needed some time to process. So I don't know. I don't think she knows what she's going to do either."

"Do you want to stay with her?"

Christen sighs, pondering her question. "You know, I've been asking myself that too. I'm not happy in our relationship, but I don't want to break up and lose her forever. She's my best friend. I love her but..."

"You're not in love with her."

Christen nods, kicking the sand beneath her feet.

A few beats pass, but Tobin responds thoughtfully. "You know, I think ultimately, Kelley would just want you to be happy. Obviously she loves you too, but she may have to settle for loving you as a friend if that's what makes you happy. It would be an adjustment, and things might be weird for a little while, but I think if given the option of having you as a friend or not having you at all, I think she'd choose the former. I know I would."

Christen smiles weakly and nods, contemplating Tobin's advice. She thinks back to earlier that day and guilt washes over her. Christen falling out of love wasn't the real reason Kelley was so upset. "So there's another piece to this that I haven't really told you about."

"Oh?" Tobin's head remains forward, but her eyes dart over toward Christen.

Christen shakes her head at herself. She can't believe what she's about to divulge to Tobin, but it's been eating away at her since that night. Unable to keep it in any longer, she speaks before her brain has a chance to inhibit her impulse. "There's someone else too."

Tobin looks in the direction of Christen quizzically, eyes wide in anticipation. "Who?"

Suddenly, the bit of confidence she had mustered drains from her, and Christen frantically tries to backtrack, offering as vague a statement as possible. "Oh, er-- this girl in my class." Fuck.

Christen winces, internally berating herself for chickening out.

Tobin sighs and her shoulders drop slightly "Oh, uh. So you're into her?" A slight tinge of disappointment in Tobin's voice.

Christen nods in the affirmative. "Yeah, she's just, really cute. And funny. And sweet to me. And just, a good person in general." Christen's voice reflects the disappointment she feels as she describes the girl walking next to her.

"Huh. Well, good luck with that I guess. She'd be lucky to have you." Tobin offers Christen a weak smile.

It takes everything in her not to pull Tobin in and kiss her, retracting her cowardice and acting on what she so desperately wants

Instead, they walk silently with the sun starting to set behind the horizon. "We should probably head back." Tobin states plainly.

They walk up the beach to the nearest bus stop and wait for the right bus to pick them up, dusting sand from their feet and ankles.

Christen watches Tobin's stoic profile as they stand there together. Her angular jaw outlined by the shadows cast from the setting sun. Christen wonders what Tobin's thinking, what her reaction is to all this. Knowing she'd never get a straight answer if she asked, Christen keeps her mouth shut and stands silently next to Tobin as the bus arrives to take them home.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a long chapter, but I couldn't find a good stopping point without prolonging the lack of Preath. So without further ado...

Kelley doesn't come home for several days. At least, Christen doesn't see Kelley at home for several days. She notices articles of clothing and Kelley's make up bag disappear after the first night, but other than that, Kelley was an enigma. She must have come home to collect some essentials while Christen was in class at some point. At practice, Kelley avoids her like the plague. Luckily, the majority of their recent practices have been position-based, so forwards and defenders didn't mingle much anyway. Christen sends her several texts to make sure she's safe and has a place to stay, but the texts go unanswered. Christen resigns to give Kelley her space.

Christen also notices that Tobin's presence at the house has been sparse. She comes in for meals and to pick up and drop off her gear from practice, but spends most of her time out or cloistered in her room.

Finding herself spending more time alone, Christen does what most lonely girls do in similar situations: binge watch Netflix. One particular night as she's curled up on the couch late into the night, she jumps as the front door swings open. Her adrenaline subsides as her eyes rest on the familiar brunette stumbling through the doorway. What she doesn't expect to see is Tobin pulling a girl into the house by the hand, both laughing in a drunken stupor.

"Chris! Hey!" Tobin yells. She quickly covers her mouth dramatically "Oh sorry, did we wake you up?"

A little perturbed by Tobin's drunken state, Christen's mouth curls in a frown. "No, I was just watching tv."

The blonde that Tobin had brought in with her, drapes her arms around Tobin, giggling against her cheek. Tobin whispers something in her ear in a gross display of PDA.

Christen rolls her eyes, becoming more frustrated by the second. She clears her throat. "So, you gonna introduce me to your friend or just make out in the doorway all night." Christen knows her voice is harsh, but she can't help the venom dripping from her mouth.

Tobin looks over, detaching herself slightly from the girl. "Oops, sorry. This is Lacey. Oh! she's the one I said I went on the date with that night you and Kelley fucked in the shower!" Tobin and Lacey laugh hysterically at this, but Christen is fuming by this point.

"What the hell's your problem Tobin!" Christen throws her hands up in exasperation

"What? You're not the only one who gets to get laid in this house!" With that, Tobin grabs Lacey's hand and leads them down the hallway toward the bedroom. The door shuts loudly and Christen can hear muffled giggling coming from behind the door.

"Fuck" Christen mutters to no one, flipping the bird in the general direction of the hallway. "What the hell's going on?"

Completely flustered, she clicks back on her Netflix show, but can hear muffled noises from the room down the hall through the dull roar of the tv. The noises equally intrigue her and infuriate her. She shifts uncomfortably on the couch, trying not to think of Tobin and that girl in her room, doing...things.

Eventually the noise dies down, and Christen takes this opportunity to slip into her own room. Within the quiet confines of her room, Christen can still hear quiet murmuring through the wall they share, but it's better than the stifled moans she'd been hearing earlier. Christen sticks in some ear buds and plays a familiar, calming playlist in an attempt to distract her mind and prevent it from creeping into a spiral of worry, self-doubt, and worse-case scenarios. Eventually, the music takes her out of consciousness and she falls asleep.

The next morning as Christen's brewing a pot of coffee, she hears two pairs of feet shuffle to the front door, then murmuring, then the door opening and closing again. Seconds later, Tobin appears in the kitchen.

"Morning" Tobin groans.

Still annoyed from Tobin's uncharacteristically douchy behavior last night, Christen doesn't respond and pours herself a cup of coffee.

"Hey what's wrong with you? Wake up on the wrong side of the bed?" Tobin attempts to joke.

Christen turns and glares at Tobin as she walks past to sit at the kitchen table with her drink.

"Oh come on, you're not mad I brought a girl home are you?"

Christen remains silent, scrolling through her phone.

"Chris, come on that's not fair, you can't be mad at me for that."

Christen looks up from her phone. "I'm not mad you brought a girl home." Lie. "I'm mad you didn't tell me you were planning on doing that." Lie

"What does it matter to you if I bring a girl home? I'm single, I can do what I want."

Tobin's passive aggressive remark cuts at Christen. "I just don't think it was very considerate given the circumstances."

"What circumstances?" Tobin accuses

"Tobin..." Christen sighs, putting her hand over her eyes.

"No Chris, please explain to me these 'circumstances' cus I'm a little lost. First you're with Kelley, then we kiss and suddenly you don't like Kelley, then you unload all your baggage on me, and just when I think I might have a shot, it turns out you like some other fucking girl. Does that sound about right or am I missing something."

Christen opens her mouth to speak, but the sound of the front door interrupts her train of thought as she sees Kelley walk in slowly.

"Oh for fucks sake! I'll be at the field." Tobin strides quickly past Kelley "Good luck with her." She says to Kelley as she slams the door on her way out.

"The fuck's her problem?" Kelley says looking confused.

Still in shock from Tobin's outburst, all Christen can muster is a shrug of her shoulders as she tries to process what just happened.

"Uh, do you mind if I sit with you?" Kelley asks

Christen shakes her head and offers a chair to Kelley.

Kelley plops down and lets out a sigh. "So I've been doing a lot of thinking..."

Christen looks down at her coffee. Here we go. Round two.

Kelley continues. "And I think maybe--maybe we need to end things. You're obviously not happy, and judging from Tobin's temper tantrum, it doesn't look like she is either. I don't know what's going on between you two, and at this point I don't really want to know, but if us being together is making everyone in this fucked up little love triangle we got going on here so unhappy, I think it's time to call it quits."

Christen's shoulders hunch and she curls into herself. She knew this was a possibility, but it still hurts immensely. "But Kel, what are we going to do about the house?"

"I've been staying with Lindsay in her spare room. She said I could stay there awhile until we figure out a better solution."

"What about the team?"

"That'll be ok. I think soccer will actually be a good distraction. We always had good chemistry on the field, I'm not worried about it." Kelley offers a small smile to Christen who smiles in return, thinking fondly of all the time they had spent on the field together.

"What about us?" This question is the hardest for Christen to get out

Kelley sighs. "We'll just have to wait and see. I'd like to be friends with you eventually, but I think it's going to take some time, for both of us."

"You really did do some thinking. Seems like you have everything planned out."

"I picked up a few good habits from you along the way." Kelley gives Christen a wink.

Christen laughs a little, the tension dissipating slightly from the room. "I feel like we're getting divorced." Christen jokes

Kelley laughs at this morose joke. "Yeah I know. We're so grown up."

"Do you hate me?" Christen says meekly, looking down at her coffee.

Kelley lets out a chuckle. "To be honest, if you had asked me that two days ago, I might have said yes. But I realized I'd rather you be happy and not with me, than miserable with me. So no, I don't hate you."

Christen smiles at this "That's really mature of you Kel."

"I know, college has groomed me into an upstanding member of society."

They share another stilted laugh. Their laughter subsides, and silence falls over them as they both take in the gravity and finality of this conversation.

"Kelley, thank you. I know it's not much, but I hope we can be friends again too. Soon hopefully."

Kelley nods her head and gives Christen a final kiss on the cheek, as if sealing the spoken agreement between them. "I'm going to pack up some stuff to take over to Lindsay's if that's ok."

"Yeah of course. Do you want any help?"

"No, I think I'd rather do it myself, but thanks for offering." Kelley walks back into their once shared room to begin packing.

Christen finishes the lukewarm coffee left in her mug and goes to put the dirty dish in the sink. She leans against the sink, mind swimming and thoughts racing a mile a minute.

Without knowing where she's going, Christen's feet take her out the door, leaving Kelley alone to her task.

It starts as a brisk walk, but slowly turns into a full on sprint toward campus. So engulfed in a mix of emotion, she doesn't take in the burning in her lungs or the heaviness of her legs as she pushes on down the sidewalk in a trance. She isn't even forming thoughts at this point. Her mind is filled with just raw emotion, like a series of intense colors painting her mind rather than actual images or words.

As she approaches her final destination, her chest is heaving as she sucks in air to fill her desperate lungs. Droplets fall from her face and her shirt sticks to her body, glued there by a mist of sweat on her torso.

As she stands against the fence, she looks through the metal wiring to find Tobin dancing across the pitch with the ball, spinning acrobatically as her feet expertly keep up with the ball beneath them. It really is beautiful watching how graceful and natural she is in her element.

Christen makes her way through the nearby gate, approaching the girl. For once, Christen has no plan, no map for where she wants to go with this. Her body is running on pure instinct. She continues walking across the pitch until Tobin spins around and locks eyes with her. Tobin's gaze stops Christen dead in her tracks.

They stand in a stare down about ten meters apart, neither sure how to initiate contact with the other. Finally, Tobin takes a few paces toward Christen, prompting Christen to do the same. They walk until the gap is closed and they stand face to face.

Tobin's face doesn't reflects the anger from earlier in the kitchen. Instead, her brows furrow, eyes searching Christen's for answers as they stand together wordlessly.

But Christen doesn't have any words for Tobin. She can't formulate a response that accurately expresses the emotional rollercoaster she had been feeling the last few weeks. The knot in the pit of her stomach clenches tighter as she stands there looking into the amber eyes that had tormented her since they first met in front of the freshman dorms.

She doesn't know what compels her to do it, but she doesn't know what else to do. Christen leans in, grabbing Tobin by the back of the neck, and takes Tobin's lip between her own, hoping the kiss will finally offer answers for both of them.

They stand in the middle of the pitch frozen in time with their lips press together, neither moving for fear of breaking such a delicate moment. Finally Tobin takes a step back, removing her lips from Christen's.

Christen's eyes flutter open. The relief and exhilaration she felt from the brief kiss are quickly washed away when she sees the anger and disbelief return on Tobin's face.

"What are you doing?" Tobin asks

Christen fumbles for words "I don't know, I just--I thought--"

"You thought you could could just come kiss me whenever it's convenient for you and everything would be ok? You thought I'd be here waiting around for you while you figure out what the hell you want with me?" Tobin's voice rises in anger. "No, it doesn't work like that, Christen. I'm not your puppet. Let me guess, you broke up with Kelley and now you need me to fill the void, is that it?" Tobin scoffs and paces in front of Christen, gesturing wildly. "I have my own life and my own needs, and you know what? I found someone who's actually available and wants to be with me the same way I want to be with her."

"Tobin, I thought--I thought this is what you wanted" Christen squeaks out.

The bite and frustration in Tobin's voice diminishes slightly and her voice softens a fraction. "I did want this, or I do. I don't know. But it's all fucked up now. I just--Lacey's easy to be with. I just need easy for a while. I'm not saying she's the one, but she's what I need now."

Rejected by two girls in one day. A new personal record. A fire suddenly lights in Christen. Her heart pounds in her chest and her fists turn a bright white, clenched tightly by her side. Passionate anger starts to ball in the pit of her stomach as she tires of biting her tongue and playing the victim.

"Look, I might have dragged things out with Kelley a bit too long, that's fair. I'll own up to that, but you can't blame me for any feelings you may have had for me. I never unfairly lead you on, right? I never acted on how I felt toward you because I was taken. You knew I was taken! You knew, but you flirted with me and gave me all this special attention anyway! So you have no right to blame all this on me. You have to take accountability too. I'm sorry that things are fucked right now, but it takes two to tango, Tobin."

Tobin stands mouth agape, shocked by Christen's candidness. Christen's retort takes some of the wind out of Tobin's sails and she stands there idly, realizing Christen's right. They both are somewhat to blame for how quickly their situation got messy.

"Fuck! You're infuriating!" Tobin yells

"And you're a fucking pain in the ass!" Christen yells back

They stand together, both silently simmering, pissed off at each other. But it's finally all laid out on the table. Green eyes and brown eyes stare into each other waiting for the other to falter.

Then, as if directed on the same down beat, Tobin and Christen crash together haphazardly. Their lips find each other, hopelessly trying to make up for what their words couldn't express. It's sloppy, and rough, and desperate, but exactly what both of them needed.

Christen's lips slot between Tobin's and they move together at a frenetic pace. It's nothing like the slow meandering kiss they had shared weeks prior, this kiss is immeasurably more passionate and needy. Tobin's want is obvious as she opens her mouth to graze her tongue along Christen's bottom lip, begging for entrance. Christen immediately responds and parts her lips to feel Tobin's tongue slide into her mouth with reckless abandon.

Their limbs tangle together, hands clawing and clinging to any body part that comes in contact with fingertips. Christen's hands roam over Tobin's muscular back and shoulders while she feels Tobin's hands pulling her in tightly by the hips, grabbing on tightly.

They suddenly break apart, both breathless and lips swollen. "We should talk about this." Christen pants out

"I think we've talked enough." Tobin says assertively as she crashes her lips to Christen's once again.

They stand entwined, kissing in the middle of the field until Christen breaks the kiss again. "Fuck... ok ok, Tobin, as much as I'm enjoying this, seriously, I really think we need to talk about this."

Lust burns behind Tobin's dilated pupils, but she nods her head in agreement. They had just released weeks of frustration on each other; they needed to talk about it. Christen takes Tobin by the hand and leads them off the field toward a less visible part of the pitch.

They wind up snaking their way underneath the bleachers like a couple of high schoolers sneaking off to smoke cigarettes during second period. They stand there, leaning against the metal support beams, looking anywhere but at each other. The silence is heavy and uncomfortable.

Shifting back and forth on her feet, Christen finally breaks the silence. "So, now that we got that out of our systems, what now?"

Tobin laughs a little at this, releasing some of the tension in the air. "Fuck if I know." Tobin shakes her head and runs her fingers through her ponytail.

A beat passes before Christen speaks again. "Do you regret kissing me?" Christen says meekly.

Tobin catches Christen's gaze and a small smile forms on her lips. "No, of course not. I've been wanting to do that for weeks."

Christen bobs her head, looking down to hide the color in her cheeks.

"Do you regret kissing me?" Tobin asks earnestly.

Christen looks up and shakes her head "No. to be honest, I've thought about doing that every day since the night of the party--Still..."

Christen trails off, unsure how to phrase the hesitation she feels about this situation. "I feel like maybe we should slow down on whatever this is." She motions back and forth between them. "Things just ended with Kelley, and you have what's her face to deal with."

The bite in Christen's voice doesn't go unnoticed by Tobin. "Lacey." She says flatly.

"Right, Lacey. I just feel like maybe we should let some of the dust settle before jumping into things you know?"

Tobin nods her head in agreement as she mulls over this new arrangement. She suddenly perks her head up as she recalls another piece of the puzzle.

"Wait, what about that girl you said you liked? Is that a thing or..." Tobin questions.

Christen smiles, remembering the lie she had told in a panic while on the beach. She chuckles a little at this. 

"What? What's so funny?" Tobin says somewhat defensively. 

Christen shrugs her shoulders as her laughter dissipates. "It was you. The girl I liked, that was you. I was just too afraid to tell you so I panicked and said it was somebody else. I'm sorry."

"Oh! No that's ok. That makes sense I guess." Tobin laughs lightly, running her hand up and down her opposite arm.

They stand idly a few moments as they both digest what had been laid out on the table. "So we're kinda starting back at square one huh?" Tobin asks.

"I wouldn't call it square one. More like--a clean slate. Square one sounds like we're going backwards. Clean slate is more like, we're just, starting over." Christen tries to rationalize optimistically.

Tobin smirks at this. She extends her arm and thrusts her hand in Christen's direction. "Well if we're starting over, let me reintroduce myself. Tobin Heath, badass soccer player, beach bum, and your roommate whom you find terribly attractive."

Christen laughs at this, taking Tobin's hand and shaking it firmly. "Christen Press, goal scorer extraordinaire, dog-lover, and the best lay you'll ever have." She teases confidently, giving Tobin a wink.

"We'll have to see about that one." Tobin teases back.

Christen smirks flirtatiously. "Can't wait." 


	9. Chapter 9

When they get back to the house, it's like the air had been let out of a balloon. Though it may look the same to the untrained eye, Christen notices little pieces of Kelley missing from the hose. The throw blanket Kelley's mom had given her at Christmas was gone from the back of the couch, some books were missing from the shelf, and the shoes that usually littered the entryway weren't there to trip her up as she walked in the house.

Sensing Christen's deflated demeanor, Tobin offers her a squeeze on the shoulder. "Uh, do you want anything from the kitchen? A snack, or water or something?"

Christen shakes her head and walks farther into the house. "No, I'm ok. Thanks though. I'm just gonna go in my room for a bit. Maybe take a nap or something."

Tobin bobs her head in response, understanding that Christen needs some time alone. "Ok. I'll be in here if you need anything."

Christen gives Tobin a weak smile and turns around to head toward her room. When she closes the door behind her, she notices how barren it looks. The closet is half empty and the knickknacks that had once lined their dresser were nowhere to be found. Christen sits on the bed, taking in the emptiness of the room. This is what she had asked for, but it still stung to know that her relationship with Kelley would never be the same.

She lays down on the bed, taking in the remaining hints of Kelley's scent on the pillow, letting herself grieve the loss of her first love. She doesn't feel regret, just a pang of nostalgia from the not so distant past. She falls asleep tangled in the sheets of her unmade bed, wrapped up in Kelley's final embrace.

The next few days, Tobin and Christen dance around each other as they continue to try defining their nebulous relationship. Tobin breaks things off with Lacey, who in turn, throws a green smoothie at Tobin for being, "just like every other girl who fucks her and leaves her." Tobin hadn't intended it to be this way, so she takes her punishment deservingly.

Christen laughs uncontrollably upon seeing Tobin shamefully walk in the house covered in the green sticky liquid. "What the hell happened to you? Did Hulk throw up on you on your way home?" Christen manages to get out between cackles

Tobin remains straight faced "No, I met with Lacey and told her it wasn't going to work out and she promptly threw her smoothie on me."

Christen grimaces "Oh, sorry about that. Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I deserve it for being a douche."

Christen grabs a dish towel from the kitchen and brings it over to Tobin. "You're not a douche. The fact you feel this bad is a pretty clear indication of that."

Christen hands over the dish towel and Tobin wipes her face and hands in it.

Christen chuckles

"What?" Tobin asks

"You just-- there's so much crap in your hair." Christen picks out a chunk of the drink from a strand of Tobin's hair, concentrating intently on the piece of ground up fruit.

They stand closely face to face as Christen picks out bits and pieces from Tobin's hair, both knowing that Tobin could easily rinse it out in the shower, but enjoying the primal intimacy of this grooming.

Christen finally removes her hands from Tobin's hair, dropping them to her side. "There, all better."

"Thanks." Tobin whispers

As Tobin goes to take a step closer, the sound of her sticky shoe peeling away from the wooden floor loudly interrupts their trance.

Tobin shakes her head and laughs at this poor timing. "I guess I should take a shower and clean up."

Christen releases the breath she had been holding. "Yeah, probably a good idea."

It had been like this since they talked underneath the bleachers. Christen hadn't felt so much angst since she went to that Maroon Five concert her eighth grade year. They had yet to define their newly intimate relationship, both in the physical and emotional meaning of the word.Things couldn't go on like this much longer if they were going to continue living together.

On the pitch, training had picked up as the team approached it's first away match this season. They started the season with a couple of home game wins against relatively unimpressive opponents, but their first away match was slated to be a competitive one. Practices were getting more intense as the team reeved up for the coming game, and the tension was palpable in the locker room after practices. At their final practice before the big game, the team played a full field, 11v11 inter-team match. The players treated it as a dress rehearsal for the game. Tackles were rough, shots on goal were hard, and tempers flared in competitive banter and trash talk. But by the end of it, the team was pumped and ready to go for their game in two days.

As Tobin and Christen stand next to their lockers silently packing their gear, Kelley comes over to the two of them. "Uh, hey guys." Kelley greets them hesitantly

Christen and Tobin both turn from their spot, a little caught off guard by Kelley's greeting.

"Hey Kelley, what's up?" Christen asks, trying to sound nonchalant.

"A bunch of the girls are coming over for dinner tonight at Lindsay's if you guys don't have any plans or anything." Kelley says, looking back and forth between the girls.

Tobin looks over at Christen, urging her to respond. "Uh, no. No plans. We'll be there. Do you need us to bring anything?" Christen feels a little awkward, talking in these "we" statements to her ex-girlfriend.

"Uh, not that I can think of at the moment. But I'll text you if anything comes up." Kelley says waving her phone in the air.

"Ok cool. So, see you then I guess." Christen says.

"Yup. See you then." Kelley responds

They wave to each other awkwardly as Kelley backs up toward the exit, leaving the locker room.

Tobin turns toward Christen, giving her a knowing look.

Christen rolls her eyes "I know, I know! Shut up. I promise not to be so awkward tonight ok?"

"I didn't say anything." Tobin chuckles and slings her bag over her shoulder.

"See you in class?" Christen questions.

"Yeah, see you then." Tobin flashes her a smile and heads out the door.

After their classes are done for the day, Christen and Tobin walk back to the house together. They stop at a convenience store on their way a pick up a bottle of wine, knowing they would surely need it if they were going to make it through dinner.

Dinner was at 6:30, giving them a couple of hours to get ready and make the trek over there. Christen hops in the shower first to wash away the thin layer of sweat she'd accumulated on her body from their short walk back from campus. While Christen puts on her makeup, Tobin grabs a shower too. Christen smiles, hearing Tobin humming a tune she doesn't recognize beneath the sound of the running water.

Tobin takes all of 10 minutes getting changed and plops on the couch to watch sports center while Christen finishes getting ready. Some time later, Christen emerges from her room hair done, makeup on, wearing a black sleeveless shirt and tight jeans.

Upon seeing Christen all dolled up, Tobin shoots up off the couch to stand up. She swallows thickly as she looks Christen up and down. "Wow--Chris. You look, really nice." Tobin musters.

Christen smiles sweetly at how affected Tobin is. "Thanks. You do too."

Tobin blushes and straightens out her short sleeve button up and black jeans. "Oh! I--no, my hair's still wet and I didn't really put any makeup on..."

Christen takes a step closer to Tobin and brings her hand up to grab the ends of Tobin's still damp hair. "No, I like you like this. Like, effortlessly cool. It's sexy."

Tobin smiles graciously. "Thanks."

"Are you ready to go?" Christen asks, still standing face to face with Tobin.

"Yeah. There's just one thing I need to do before we go."

Tobin lifts her hand to Christen's jaw and guides her into a soft kiss. Christen falls hard into the kiss, melting at Tobin's touch. Tobin's thumb grazes Christen's cheek as their lips move together slowly, both happy to let this kiss linger. When Tobin pulls away. Christen's eyes struggle to flutter open, still wanting to relish the feeling of Tobin in every nerve ending on her body.

"Now I'm ready" Tobin says, offering a playful smile.

This kiss helps to calm Christen's nerves and reassure her that they're in this together. They may have to trudge through some uncomfortable conversations or painful glares, but this kiss signifies that they trust each other enough to get through it together.


	10. Chapter 10

Lindsay lives about a mile from the house, so Christen and Tobin grab their wine and make their way over to the house. It's a good 20 minute walk, but the air is cool and the sidewalk takes them through a lush park full of large trees and well manicured flowerbeds.

When they arrive, they see that there are already several cars parked out in front of the house. They make their way inside to find the house full of their teammates, mostly upperclassmen. Christen looks around the room and greets friendly faces as they come say hello. Maybe this won't be so bad.

She stands next to Tobin, shoulders bumping into each other every so often to reassure their physical presence. Midway through her conversation with a fellow forward, she catches the eye of Kelley who offers her a weak smile before disappearing into the kitchen. Christen excuses herself and weaves her way through the living room to find Kelley. Lindsay is in the kitchen stirring a big pot of noodles while Kelley is parked behind her picking at the food in other pans on the stove. Some things never change.

Christen laughs at this, gaining the attention of both girls. Kelley turns around and locks eyes with Christen. "Hey! Glad you could make it."

Christen holds up the bottle of wine, offering it toward Kelley. "Thanks for having us. Uh, I brought this. I wasn't sure if this was a drinking thing or not."

Kelley comes over and takes the bottle from Christen. "I'll never say no to a drinking thing." Kelley mills around the kitchen opening drawers to find a wine key and glasses. "You want some?"

"Yes please." Christen watches Kelley open the bottle and pour two glasses.

"Lindsay? Wine?" Kelley looks in the direction of Lindsay but she just shakes her head no before excusing herself to do...something.

"Does Tobin want any?" Kelley asks, handing Christen her glass.

"Oh, uh probably." Christen's a bit caught off guard by the mention of Tobin. Kelley takes another glass and fills it with wine before setting it on the counter next to Christen, presumably so she could give it to Tobin later.

"How's the house?" Kelley leans against the opposite counter, bringing her glass to her lips.

"It's good. Feels a little empty though." Christen answers honestly.

"Yeah,m. Not gonna lie, I kinda miss that little shit hole. Good times at that place." Kelley reminisces with a tinge of melancholy in her voice.

"So uh, how's staying here? Have you figured out a living situation or..." Christen trails off. Their conversation feels so robotic and surface-level. Like they're acquaintances who are only friends on Facebook and don't actually talk in real life, but are forced to acknowledge each other's presence at a party.

"Yeah actually, I'll probably just end up staying here. Lindsay's parents like the idea of her having a roommate to keep her in check, so I'm staying."

"Have they met you? I'm pretty sure it'll be the other way around." Christen teases

"Hey, I've matured remember?" Kelley takes an exaggerated slurp of her wine, making Christen laugh heartily. Christen starts to feel a little more comfortable seeing glimmers of the old Kelley.

"How's Tobin?"

Christen swallows roughly at this loaded question. "Uh, she's good, she's good."

"Is she ready for the game Saturday? I need her focused if we're gonna win. No distracting her alright?" Kelley teases, but the hint of sadness behind her eyes is noticeable.

"No she's ready. It's practically all Tobin talks about."

"What do I talk about?" Tobin enters the kitchen, looking between Kelley and Christen.

"I was just telling Kelley how you never shut up about soccer." Christen says, offering the extra glass to Tobin, who gladly accepts.

"True. It's that one track mind of mine." Tobin says, tapping her temple with her index finger. Christen smiles and looks over at Kelley who still hasn't made eye contact with Tobin. Her smile quickly fades.

Christen doesn't blame her, the breakup is still a fresh wound. As far as Kelley's concerned, Tobin is the physical representation of why they're no longer together. It probably hurts to see them together. Christen makes a mental note to limit her interaction with Tobin while they're around Kelley, at least for the time being.

"The natives are getting restless, any ETA on the food?" Tobin asks.

Kelley looks into the large pot and pulls out a noodle. " Tastes ready to me. Rally the troops. Chow time!"

The rest of the meal goes off without a hitch. Tobin gets in an animated discussion with a teammate about how to survive a zombie apocalypse, while Christen listens to another conversation revolving around game-day superstitions.

Under the table, beneath the prying eyes of their teammates, Tobin puts her hand on Christen's knee. It's a simple gesture that isn't meant to mean anything significant, but Christen's skin flushes beneath Tobin's touch. She loses track of the conversation, unable to concentrate with Tobin drawing little circles on her knee with her thumb.

As dinner comes to a close, Tobin and Christen thank Lindsay and Kelley for hosting and walk out with several other girls, saying goodbye as they get in their cars. A senior defender offers to drive them home, which they gladly accept, not wanting to make the trek home on such full stomachs.

After being dropped off, they thank their teammate and head inside the house to decompress from the night.

"I'm so full." Tobin says, collapsing on the couch.

"I know, I ate like, four things of garlic bread." Christen sits on the opposite side of the couch.

"Yeah I can smell you from here." Tobin jokes, waving her hand in front of her face.

"Hey! Not funny!" Christen retorts, leaning over to push Tobin further into the couch.

"Ah help the garlic monster is attacking ahh!" Tobin says sarcastically.

Responding to this taunt, Christen lunges all the way over to Tobin, playfully wrestling her flailing arms down against the couch cushions, using her body to pin Tobin down. "Garlic monster's going to breath in your face!"

Christen leans her face in closer as the two girls giggle uncontrollably. "Stop, stop! I give up! Uncle!" Tobin gets out raggedly between bouts of laughter.

Their laughter subsides as they both realize the position they're in, Christen laying on top of Tobin, legs around her torso, hands pinning Tobin's arms above her head, faces inches apart. Christen swallows audibly as they remain there, frozen. Christen's eyes dart to Tobin's lips and back up to Tobin's eyes, wide with anticipation.

Unable to restrain herself any longer, Christen closes the gap between them and brings her lips to Tobin's. She inhales sharply at this contact, her body pulsing all over, feeling Tobin's chest rise and fall more heavily beneath her. Tobin's lips are chapped from nervously biting them all night, a habit Christen finds incredibly sexy. Christen runs her tongue along the roughed up skin, feeling the ridges of every tooth mark left there. Impatiently, Tobin opens her mouth and uses her tongue to feel Christen's, massaging it artfully.

Christen readjusts to get better access to Tobin's mouth. As she shifts, her hips inadvertently slide against Tobin's torso, eliciting a moan from Tobin. Upon hearing this, Christen's body immediately responds to the sound of Tobin's want. Her nipples peak beneath her bra and blood pulses in her center. Christen's breathing becomes more labored as their breaths mingle together.

Enjoying the response from Tobin, she moves her hips into her again, this time with purpose. Another moan escapes Tobin's mouth. Not wanting to muffle the sound anymore, Christen detaches her lips from Tobin's and kisses down her jaw to her neck, swirling her tongue around the soft skin, kissing and licking all along the delicate skin.

"Chris, I want to touch you." Tobin breaths out.

Christen gladly removes her grip on Tobin's wrists, releasing Tobin's arms from their place above her head. Tobin brings her hands to Christen's torso, running her hands up and down Christen's stomach and around her back, feeling Christen's muscles through the fabric of her shirt. Christen's skin tingles beneath her thin shirt and goosebumps line her skin.

Christen can feel herself losing control of her body, her arousal quickly taking over her rational mind. Tobin's fingers play with the hem of Christen's shirt, silently asking permission to continue their path underneath her shirt. Against her body's want to continue, Christen pulls up, knowing she might not be able to stop if they kept this pace.

"I'm sorry, was that too much? I didn't mean to push you." Tobin says immediately

"No! You were perfect. I just don't want to rush this and ruin it, you know?" Christen says, still catching her breath.

Tobin lets out a knowing laugh. "Trust me, you couldn't ruin it if you tried."

Christen smirks playfully. "You're not making it any easier."

"Sorry, just saying." Tobin says, her eyes wandering over Christen's body, who still sits on top of Tobin.

Sensing her struggle to keep things PG, Christen slides off of Tobin, who lets out a dissatisfied sigh. Christen leans in to plant a chaste kiss to Tobin's lips, a small consolation for her patience.

"I need to take a shower and then I think I'm gonna go to bed." Christen says, stretching in the middle of the living room.

"Want some company?" Tobin wiggles her eyebrows playfully.

Christen gives her a knowing look.

"Kidding! kidding!" Tobin says, hands raised up defensively. "Ok, goodnight then. I'll see you in the morning."

"Night Tobin" 


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for keeping up with the story everyone! I had a hard time figuring out how to navigate through this nebulous part of their relationship. That kind of "are we or aren't we dating" situation is difficult for me in real life too. I guess life imitates art? Anyway, I promise things are moving forward, just stay with me.

The next morning is a travel day for the team. They all pile into the charter bus that will take them four hours away to their final destination. Most of the girls are too amped up to sleep, so most of them play cards, or chat, or listen to music. Christen and Tobin don't sit next to each other, mostly so they aren't tempted to touch each other, but also out of respect for Kelley and the team. They hadn't yet explained what was going on between them, hell, they didn't even know what was going on between them. So they agree to keep a low profile on this trip. Still, they steal glances at each other across the rows through loud conversations.

When they arrive at the hotel, the team move like cattle into the lobby to receive their room assignments for the night. Training staff hand over keys to each pair of girls and send them up to unpack and settle in before dinner.

"Tobin and Christen, come get your keys." An assistant coach thrusts two keys in Christen's direction. Christen's mouth feels dry suddenly. She knew it was a possibility that they would be assigned to room together, but she didn't think it would actually happen. It's ok, you live together and things are fine. It's just like that. You can handle this. Still, she knows the close proximity and shared bed will be an extra temptation to overcome.

She looks over at Tobin who wears a similar expression on her face, the same thoughts obviously running through her head.

Christen grabs the keys from the coach, walking through a group of players to head toward the elevator. As she weaves through, she passes by Kelley. She swears she hears Kelley murmur something under her breath, but she doesn't quite catch what.

Christen and Tobin meet at the elevator. "Hey roomie." Tobin offers.

"Hey."

A few other teammates join them at the landing and squeeze into the elevator before it takes them up to their floor. They squish up against each other and breath in the recycled air while they ride up. When they make it up to the floor, they empty the elevator and the players make their way to their assigned rooms.

Christen and Tobin wheel their bags into their room and let the door close behind them. The silence is deafening.

"So uh, what side of the bed do you want?" Tobin asks casually.

"It doesn't really matter to me. Do you have a preference?" Christen shifts uncomfortably in her spot.

"Nope."

They stand there, staring each other down from opposite sides of the room, the elephant in the room suffocating them and removing any ability to speak. Finally, Christen addresses it.

"Ok, this is ridiculous. We're adults, we can handle rooming together. I mean, we live together right?" Christen cuts through the tension and Tobin nods graciously in return.

"Ok, maybe we need to set like, some ground rules or something so we aren't just dancing around each other the whole trip. I know that would me me feel better, knowing what's allowed and what's not" Christen had always been a sucker for rules and order.

"Ok sure, like what?" Tobin asks

"Um, like no PDA outside of this room." Christen offers

"Fair...what about inside this room." Tobin questions

That was the scary question. What could they possibly come up with that both satisfied their intense desire to be physical with one another, but didn't take things too far too fast. They needed some sort of compromise or Christen might burst from the mounting sexual tension.

"No walking around in your underwear." Christen suggests

"How am I supposed to change then?"

"I don't know, in the bathroom or something. Just not in front of me."

"Why?"

Christen's cheeks turn pink as she starts to feel flustered. "Just, don't do it alright?"

Tobin gives her a side eye. "Alright fine, no being naked in front of you."

They stand there in silence again until Tobin offers a suggestion.

"Ok I got one, no doing that thing where you look at me all doe-eyed and do that lip thing."

"What are you talking about?" Christen asks, legitimately curious.

"Oh come on, that thing where you look me up and down while you chew on your lip."

"So don't look at you?"

Tobin gives her an annoyed look. "Just, don't be a tease or whatever."

Christen smiles at this, feeling rather pleased with herself discovering that just a look had such an affect on Tobin.

"Ok, I'll try.So....what about touching? We can do that right?" Christen asks, inching closer to Tobin, testing the waters.

"Well I mean, we've already kissed and stuff, it would be kinda silly to put a moratorium on it at this point." Tobin takes a tiny step toward Christen.

Christen takes a couple more steps toward Tobin, drawn to her like a magnet. "So this would be ok." Christen grabs a fistful of Tobin's shirt, pulling her in closer to place a delicate kiss on Tobin's lips. She can feel Tobin's body relax into it as she breathes out heavily.

"Yeah, it think that's ok." Tobin says as their lips part, more breathless than before.

She brings her hands around Christen's waist, pulling her in closer until their lower halves are pressed against one another. Tobin leans in, swerving around Christen's mouth and heads straight for her neck. She starts peppering slow gentle kisses along Christen's neck, but Christen soon feels Tobin's tongue licking and her lips lightly sucking the sensitive skin beneath. Christen shudders at the sensation, her body tingling with pleasure as Tobin's mouth skillfully explores the area.

After a torturous few moments, Tobin detaches her mouth from Christen's neck and returns to stand eye to eye with her. "Is that allowed?"

Wordlessly, Christen nods her head yes. She shouldn't allow it, given the small pool that's formed in her underwear, but her brain is scrambled by her arousal and she has no ability to fight against her better judgement.

Christen's eyes graze over Tobin's body, taking in how they fit so well into each other. She brings her lip between her teeth, thinking of all the ways she wants their bodies to fit together.

"Hey, no fair, you're breaking one of the rules! I said you couldn't look at me like that." Tobin points out flirtatiously.

Christen smiles and gives Tobin a playful push on the shoulder, causing Tobin to release her grip on Christen and stumble backward.

"How about this. We keep things PG and if we feel like things are getting to be too much, we let the other one know." Tobin offers a less complicated solution.

Christen nods her head in agreement. "Yeah that sounds good."

"Besides, we haven't even gone on a proper date yet. I at least need to take you out before I can expect you to put out." Tobin mocks with a wink.

"Wait, hotel buffet food surrounded by 25 of our teammates doesn't sound romantic to you?" Christen quips sarcastically.

Tobin laughs, shaking her head. "Not exactly what I had in mind."

"What do you have in mind?"

"That depends. Are you officially agreeing to go on a date with me?" Tobin pries

Christen rolls her eyes. "Yes! Just tell me what we're doing."

Tobin smirks. "You'll just have to wait and see."

Christen was already feeling frustrated from having to restrain herself around Tobin, now the anticipation for this proposed date just adds another excruciating layer of angst to the mix. Although the waiting was painful, Christen kind of enjoyed the excitement of it all.

Tobin looks at the digital clock on the night stand. "We better head down for our meeting before dinner."

"Right behind you."

They sit with their teammates while watching film and eating dinner. Christen has a hard time focusing past the lanky brunette sitting in front of her, but does her best to actually listen to what the coaches have to say. While they eat, they sit at a large table with their teammates, gladly letting others lead the conversation while they inhale their meal. Christen watches Tobin interacting with her teammates, smiling at how animated Tobin can be when she talks about something she's passionate about, in this case, Harry Potter. She's kinda a big nerd.

The coaches reign in the conversations and send the players up to their respective rooms. The game is at noon tomorrow, so they would need to get an early start in order to be sufficiently warmed up and ready to go come game time.

In their room, Tobin sits on the bed fiddling with the digital clock to set the alarm for 7.

"I can just set my phone alarm Tobs." Christen waves her phone in the air

"That's ok. Setting the alarm is a weird game day superstition. I know it's most likely bullshit, but if it doesn't hurt, why not try it."

"Good point." Christen goes to her luggage and pulls out her bag of toiletries. "I'm gonna hop in the shower. Do you need to pee or anything before I go in there?"

Tobin shakes her head no, still preoccupied with the clock.

Christen walks into the bathroom and shuts the door tightly behind her. Stepping into the shower, she exhales deeply, trying to let the warm water relax her. If she was going to get to sleep next to Tobin tonight, she'd need to be as relaxed as possible. It's not that she's worried about sleeping next to her, it's more that she knows her stomach will be doing flips all night if she lets her mind go there.

It's that feeling of butterflies in your stomach when your crush lightly grazes your hand sitting next to each other in the movie theater on your first date. It's that feeling of relief when you first kiss and discover that your feelings were not one sided after all. It's that nervous feeling of trying to laugh and say all the right things to impress them and make them think you're the most interesting person in the world. Christen feels all those things at once around Tobin and it's exhilarating but mentally exhausting at the same time. She prays that Tobin doesn't pick up on her giddiness as she takes another deep breath to calm her racing heart.

Christen steps out of the shower and puts on an old tshirt and soccer shorts. She opens the door from the bathroom and finds Tobin scrolling through her phone, legs stretched out on the bed. "You're up." Christen says.

Tobin gives her the once over. Christen's hair is pushed to one side, leaving a wet spot on the shoulder of her shirt. Her face is clean without a stitch of makeup on, but her dark thick lashes still flutter, drawing attention to her deep green eyes. Her oversized shirt hangs loosely on her shoulders and her bare breasts swell slightly beneath the fabric. Her long legs are freshly shaved and her muscles flex beneath the skin as she walks to her bag to retrieve lotion for them.

"Mm you smell good." Tobin says dreamily.

"You can use my shampoo if you want. It's still in the bathroom." Christen offers innocently, unaware that Tobin had risen from the bed and walked over in her direction.

"I think I'd rather smell it on you." Tobin says, leaning in to speak into Christen's ear as she's bent over her leg, propped up on the bed frame rubbing lotion down it.

Christen straightens up and spins around, now eye to eye with Tobin. Her brown eyes bore into her hungrily. Sure enough, Christen's stomach starts doing flips. Tobin's hands find their way to Christen's hips and roam up her waist, feeling the warmth of the shower radiating off her body still. Tobin's hands continue their ascent up Christens ribcage as every rise and valley is tickled by her fingertips.

Christen's breathing hitches as she realizes where Tobin's hands are headed. Christen feels Tobin's thumbs just graze the outside of her breasts. Her eyes shut involuntarily and her lips part as she lets out a half breath. She swallows roughly, eyes still closed, and places her hands on top of Tobin's.

"I think I should get in the shower." Tobin breathes out

When she finally opens her eyes, she sees the brown eyes of Tobin, all darkened and pupils dilated. Christen senses the restraint and mental fortitude Tobin is having to tap into right now as she stands inches from Christen. Reluctantly, Tobin's hands slide down Christen's body and come to rest at her side. As if released from a trance, Tobin shakes her head and blinks away the visceral arousal behind her eyes.

"Yeah, you're right." Christen's still reeling from the sensation.

Tobin takes a step back from Christen before turning around to head to the shower. Before she closes the door, Tobin peeks her head out "Better make it a cold shower."

Christen smiles and chuckles, watching Tobin disappear behind the door. Exhaling deeply, Christen slips beneath the covers of the queen sized bed and rolls to her side. Although her body feels electrified, she does her best to calm herself and focus on her breathing.

In a twilight of half sleep, she doesn't register the sound of the shower turning off or the door swinging open. But her body vaguely senses the presence of another weight as it comes to rest next to her. The bed dips a little in the middle and she slides until her back is flush against a warm solid mass. Her eyes refuse to open as she barely registers a leg slip between her own and an arm comes to rest around her waist. Cradled gently beneath the thick comforter, her mind finally lets go and drifts into a comfortable sleep.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's date time!

The game the next afternoon is as challenging as was expected. The first forty minutes were characterized by back and forth possession oriented play from both teams. The midfield was clogged with players and neither team could seem to break into the final attacking third to get a good look at goal. Finally in the forty first minute, a player from the other team is tackled hard in the box, earning a PK. Their team captain sinks it, and Christen and Tobin's team go into the locker room down a goal at half. The second half starts similarly to the first, but on a breakaway counter in the fifty-eighth minute, Christen receives a direct ball from midfield and dribbles into the box to sink a bullet into the upper corner. The team rallies around her after the shot which ties the game. She urges her team to keep the momentum up, but they're unable to replicate that drive and the game ends in a one to one tie. The team is disappointed they couldn't pull out the win, but are content to take the tie, vowing to avenge it at their next meeting.

As they pile into the bus with luggage and gear in tow, the team settles in to make the four hour trip back to campus. Most of the girls are exhausted from the excitement of the game and opt to sit quietly listening to music or sleep against their bus buddy.

Christen and Tobin sit next to each other on the ride back, both too tired to care if anyone notices how close they sit together. The sun drops beneath the horizon as they drive and the bus becomes dark. Only the glow of cell phone screens illuminate the bus, lighting up faces of players as they hunch over the screens. In the cover of darkness, Christen rests her head against Tobin's shoulder, wrapping her hand around Tobin's thigh to anchor herself there. Tobin gently strokes Christen's arm with her thumb, lulling Christen into a light sleep.

When they make it back to campus, the coach gives his final thoughts on the game and words of encouragement before sending them off to go their separate ways.

At the house, Christen and Tobin toss their belongings at the doorway and collapse on the couch.

"Ah I can already feel my legs going stiff." Tobin says as she tries to stretch out her tired legs.

"I would say take an ice bath, but I don't think the trays of ice we have in the freezer would cut it." Christen suggests, watching Tobin squeeze her thighs roughly, trying to rub out the lactic acid.

"Here, let me do that." Christen says, pulling Tobin's legs into her lap.

"No you don't have to do that, I'll be fine."

"Really, I got it. I want to." The glimmer in Christen's eye and sweet smile convince Tobin and she relents, sitting back on the arm of the couch as Christen massages her calf muscles.

"Is that too hard?" Christen asks, trying to gauge Tobin's pain tolerance.

Tobin's head is lolled back and her eyes remain closed as she hums her response. "No that feels perfect. Thank you."

Christen squeezes the tight muscles of Tobin's calves before moving up to her thighs. Tobin's shorts had ridden up revealing the tan line of where her soccer shorts hit. Christen smiles, enjoying that she gets to see these minor imperfections. Christen squeezes the muscles roughly moving up and down Tobin's thighs, careful not to let her hands venture too high up beneath Tobin's shorts. After about ten minutes, her hands finally give out and she simply runs her finger nails up and down Tobin's legs, lightly caressing the skin.

Tobin hums in pleasure. "Mm that feels so good. It's so relaxing"

Christen chuckles at how mesmerized Tobin is.

Knowing she had found a weakness in Tobin, Christen schemes to use this to her advantage. Not wanting to break the trance, she purrs to Tobin. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

Still hypnotized by Christen's fingers Tobin responds, "You could ask me anything and I'd do it for you. Just don't stop."

Christen smiles to herself "Ok, well in that case, where are you taking me for our date tomorrow? I just really, really want to know." She whispers in a low sultry voice, coercing Tobin to answer her.

Unrelenting, Tobin quirks her lips into a crooked smile "I told you, it's a surprise."

Unsatisfied by this answer, Christen resorts to more extremes measures. "Well if you can't tell me I guess I'll just stop scratching your legs and go to sleep. It's getting pretty late after all." She yawns dramatically to punctuate her idle threat.

Her bluff works and Tobin relents, groaning defeatedly. "Ugh ok. I was going to borrow Allie's car and take you to this cool little restaurant that has the best food I've ever eaten. I'm not telling you the name so don't even think about googling it. I want there to be some mystery."

"Ok fair enough." Christen smiles, satisfied that her manipulations had worked.

Tobin readjusts on the couch and reaches her arms out. "Come here. Come lay with me."

Christen accepts this offer and climbs up Tobin's body, resting partially on top of the girl, her head against her chest, arms wrapped around her torso, legs tangled together. They mold together tired and softened by exhaustion. Tobin brings her hand up to stroke Christen's hair, sending chills of pleasure down Christin's spine and into her limbs. Her body relaxes further and she easily falls asleep.

When Christen wakes up, she finds herself alone on the couch with a throw blanket carefully wrapped around her. Still groggy, she sits up and looks around the living room. "Tobin?"

"I'm here." Tobin comes in from the kitchen carrying two mugs of coffee in her hands. She comes to sit next to Christen and hands her a cup. "Morning sunshine."

Christen takes a careful sip of the steaming coffee, her brain still waking up "Thanks. How long have you been up?"

"Not too long, but I figured I should make us some coffee so you'll be fully awake for our date."

Christen furrows her brows in confusion and lets out a small laugh. "I'm pretty sure I'll be fully awake for dinner tonight."

Tobin shakes her head with a smile. "Well that's great, but our reservations are in an hour so I'm gonna need you to get that cute butt in the shower if we're going to make it on time."

Still trying to sort it out, the wheels turn in Christin's head. "But I thought you said you were taking me to dinner?"

"I said we were going to a restaurant. I didn't say it was for dinner."

"Tobin Heath, you're a tricky one aren't you?" Christen teases.

"Just wait to see what other tricks I have up my sleeve." Tobin says with a wink. "Now hurry up! I know how long it takes you to get ready."

Christen complies, disregarding the jab at her beauty routine, and stands from her seat on the couch. Tobin gives her a playful smack on the ass as she passes, earning a wide grin from Christen.

Christen showers, does her hair and make up, and picks out an outfit in record time. The pressure of potentially being late doesn't allow her time to second guess how she styled her hair or what outfit she selected. She bursts out of her room to find Tobin waiting patiently on the couch. "Ok I'm ready. How much time do we have?"

Tobin smiles at how frazzled Christen is. Getting up from the couch she comes over and gives Christen's arms a reassuring squeeze. "We have plenty of time. Relax, I got this." Tobin gives her a kiss on the cheek and Christen exhales deeply, letting some of the anxiety leave her.

"Alright lets get a move on shall we?" Tobin says, offering her hand to Christen.

Christen gladly takes Tobin's hand and is lead out the front door. The driveway which had been empty since Kelley moved out was now filled by a black mazda3.

Christen looks to Tobin for an answer.

"Remember I told you Allie is letting me borrow her car? She brought it over while you were getting ready."

Christen nods at this revelation and releases Tobin's hand to walk around to the passenger seat.

They drive about ten minutes into town and park in front of a small restaurant buzzing with people outside of the doorway, presumably waiting for a table. Tobin leads Christen through the crowd and up to the hostess stand.

"We have a reservation under Heath" Tobin shouts over the crowd.

The hostess looks at Tobin dismissively. "I'm sorry, we don't take brunch reservations."

Just as Tobin opens her mouth to argue, a man in a lavender button down and grey pants spots her "Tobin! You came!" He brings Tobin in for a big bear hug

Christen stands off to the side watching this interaction unfold.

"Hey Mark. Yeah thanks for letting me cash in that favor. I'll miss being able to hang that over your head, but I think it'll be worth it."

"Must be some girl if you're giving that up just to impress her."

"She is." Tobin turns around and pulls Christen over to introduce her. "Mark this is Christen, Christen Mark. He used to coach me when I played club in high school before he got into the restaurant business."

Christen extends her hand to receive a firm handshake from Mark. "Nice to meet you Mark."

"Pleasure's all mine. Tobin told me about you over the phone but now that I'm meeting you in person, I get why Tobin's falling over herself for you." Christen blushes as Mark gives Tobin a sly wink.

Mark call to the hostess. "Cindy, it's ok. They're personal guests of mine. I'll take them back to the patio. Come on girls, follow me."

Tobin and Christen trail behind Mark until they exit onto the patio. It's quieter and somewhat more intimate with only a few tables set up in the enclosed area.

"Here we are ladies. Best seats in the house. Brunch is on me so let me know if anyone gives you any trouble. I'll send over a waiter to get your order in a bit. Enjoy!" Mark gives Tobin a squeeze on the shoulder as he rushes back into the restaurant.

"He's really nice. He must have really owed you big time." Christen jokes.

Tobin laughs, recounting the story. "Yeah. My senior year we played in the club championship final. The game went to extra time and just before the ref was going to blow the whistle for PKs, I managed to get a shot off and it went in. He was so happy, you should have seen him. I didn't realize til later that the reason he was so excited was because the club had told him if we didn't win, he'd be out of a job."

"So you kinda saved him from unemployment." Christen interjects.

"Yeah. He ended up quitting anyway as kind of a 'fuck you' since they were so awful to him. Then he started this restaurant and the rest is history."

"Huh. Well it seems he's found his calling. This place is incredible." Christen says looking around the area.

"Just wait til you try the food. He does this carrot cake french toast that's amazing. It sounds weird, but it's probably one of the best things I've ever put in my mouth."

Christen quirks her head to the side, raising an eyebrow at the sexual connotation of Tobin's remark. Tobin blushes and stammers a bit. "I mean like, best food I've ever had in my mouth. Obviously I could think of other things that probably taste even better."

Christen swallows roughly, feeling suddenly hotter than she was before. She takes a long sip of water to relieve the dryness in her mouth and throat.

A waiter comes over and sets down a carafe of mimosa and two glasses. "Ladies, what can I get for you today?"

Still speechless from Tobin's earlier comment, Tobin speaks first. "I'll have the eggs benedict and she'll have the carrot cake french toast."

Tobin looks over at Christen to assure that this was alright. Christen nods and the two hand their menus to the waiter. "I'll have that right out." He turns and leaves them to resume their conversation.

Christen grabs the carafe and pours a drink for both of them as Tobin changes the subject. "Are you having a good time so far?"

Christen takes the first sip of her drink and nods. "Yeah, this is great. Thank you for taking me."

"Of course, I can't think of a better way to spend the day."

"The day huh? Is there more to this that you didn't tell me about?" Christen asks playfully

"Maybe." Tobin smiles into her glass as she takes a long sip of her drink.

Christen just shakes her head with a knowing smile, accepting the fact that she's at Tobin's mercy today, not that she minds in the slightest.

They devour their food, taking bites from each other's plates and finishing off the carafe of mimosa. Tobin was right, the carrot cake french toast is amazing and Christen eats every crumb of it off her plate. Slightly tipsy and extremely full, they leave the restaurant making sure to thank Mark for his hospitality before they go.

"Holy shit, please tell me we don't have to do any movement for your next mystery activity." Christen says falling into the passenger seat of the car.

"It's a good little drive so we'll have plenty of time to digest." Tobin starts the car and pulls out onto the street toward the highway

As they drive, they chat happily and sing along to the music on the radio. The drive takes them out of town and they eventually exit off the highway down a less traveled country road. About an hour later, Tobin parks her car off on the side of the road where several other cars were parked too.

"Ok serious question, are you taking me out into the woods to murder me?" Christen asks as she closes the car door behind her.

"No, my usual body dumping spot is a little east of here." Tobin jokes. She pops the trunk and grabs a backpack, swinging it over her shoulders. "You ready for a little hike?"

They walk through a small opening between trees and follow a worn path through the brush. Noise from the road quickly disappears and is replaced by birds chirping and the occasional creek flowing down the hilly area. Christen is thankful that she had opted to wear tennis shoes this morning rather than the sandals she had considered.

After thirty minutes of wandering the trail, Tobin dashes off to the left and descends through some dense brush. "Come on, follow me." Christen hears Tobin yell to her.

Christen follows, careful not to lose her footing as she climbs down. She sweeps branches and brush away from her body, trying to find where Tobin had gone. Finally, the brush clears and she finds Tobin standing in front of a decent sized swimming hole. The creek flows over a small ravine into the pool of crystal clear water, perfect for swimming. The only problem is, Christen didn't bring her suit.

"Tobin, this is beautiful. How'd you find this place?"

"This is my secret spot. If I told you, then I really would have to kill you." She teases.

Tobin slips her shoes and socks off and wades out ankle deep into the water. "It's a little cold but it feels really good."

Sweating from their hike, Christen takes her shoes off too and goes to stand with Tobin in the water. The ground is slippery from the algae and moss growing on rocky limestone bottom, so Tobin offers her hands to help Christen maintain her balance, which she gladly accepts. "It's too bad we didn't bring our bathing suits." Christen ponders aloud.

Tobin holds up a finger and treads carefully back to shore where her backpack rests. She unzips it and pulls out two bikini's and a towel. "I didn't want to tell you to wear a bathing suit cus I was afraid that would give it away, so I brought a couple of mine. We're pretty close in size so I figured you could just borrow one."

Christen smiles, coming back over to the shore and solid footing. She takes the suit from Tobin. "Where are we supposed to change?"

"It's the woods! There are plenty of bushes and no one's around. We're fine."

Christen looks around, realizing Tobin is right. "Ok, I'm going to go find somewhere over there to change." Christen points toward a clump of dense brush. "Don't look ok?"

Tobin raises three fingers "Scouts honor."

Christen walks a few meters until she's behind the bushes and swiftly undresses and puts on Tobin's suit. The bottoms are a little snug and her cheeks peek out beneath them, but otherwise it's a good fit.

As she walks back over with her clothes in hand, she spots Tobin only partially dressed. While Christen was changing, Tobin must have just opted to change out in the open where they had been standing. Tobin's bottom half is covered by her black bikini bottoms already, but her torso is completely bare. Christen had never seen this much of Tobin's tanned skin uninterrupted before. She's faced away from Christen, not realizing Christen's eyes are raking over her bare back. She watches as Tobin slips the bikini top over her head, bringing her arms around her back to tie the loose strings. Her back and should muscles flex and shimmer under a thin layer of sweat. Entranced, Christen walks toward Tobin, unable to tear her eyes away from the beauty in front of her.

Tobin hears Christen's footsteps as she approaches and turns around. Again, stunned by Tobin's incredible body, Christen can't decide which side of her she likes better. Realizing her mouth is hanging open, Christen quickly closes it to prevent any drool from spilling out as her mouth waters at the sight of Tobin.

"You ready to get in?" Tobin asks, interrupting Christen's trance

"Uh, yeah." Christen carefully pads over to Tobin, taking her hand as they both walk into the water. As it starts getting deeper, Christen's body resists, and she hesitates to go any farther. "It's cold!" She says, huddling her arms into her chest.

"That's why you just have to jump in and get it over with!" With that, Tobin falls backward into the water, completely submerging herself.

With a gasp, Tobin's emerges and bobs above the surface, swimming deeper out into the swimming hole. "Wooh! Come on, you have to do it!"

"I just need some time to get used to it!" She yells in Tobin's direction.

Unsatisfied with her answer, Tobin swims back and makes her way back up to Christen. She throws her arms around Christen, pressing her wet body against her, and wrestles Christen into the deeper water.

"Tobin!" Christen yells, unable to control her laughter. The two plunge into the water together, still wrapped around each other. When they resurface, they stand up with only the tops of her shoulders peaking above the surface. "You're so mean!" Christen admonishes, brushing her hair from her face.

"Yeah but the water doesn't feel cold anymore does it?"

Christen opens her mouth to rebut this, but realizes that Tobin was right, she hadn't even thought about the temperature of the water until just now.

They swim around, floating in their private swimming hole until their fingers are wrinkled and pruney. Christen swims over to Tobin who stands in chest deep water. She glides into Tobin's body, wrapping her arms around Tobin's broad shoulders and bringing her legs up around her waist, hanging onto Tobin like a koala bear. Tobin instinctively puts her arms under Christen's ass to support her weight beneath the water.

"I know I said this before, but I'm having a really good time with you." Christen offers in a low voice

"I'm having fun too."

Christen brings her mouth down to Tobin's and presses their lips together. They're cold and wet from the water, but soon warm up as Tobin pulls Christen's top lip between hers, gently sucking on it. Christen sweeps her tongue across Tobin's bottom lip, licking the sensitive pink flesh. The taste of spring water from the swimming hole and lingering vapors of alcohol from brunch mix with the unique taste of Tobin to create an intoxicating new flavor that overwhelms Christen's system.

Their mouths part simultaneously and their tongues dart out to meet each other. Needing more, Christen brings her hands up to Tobin's neck, pulling her in to deepen the kiss. Tobin nips at Christen's bottom lip, and Christen's hips inadvertently thrust into Tobin's torso.

Spurred on by this, Tobin's hands grab at Christen's ass, squeezing the cheeks beneath the water. A sigh releases from Christen's throat before she has a chance to swallow it back. All the pent up sexual frustration they had been holding back was finally bubbling to the surface, unable to be contained any longer.

Christen pulls apart from Tobin breathlessly and pants into her ear. "I'm sorry if you had more planned for our date today, but I'm going to need you to take me home so I can fuck you in a bed instead of in a pool of creek water."

Tobin's eyes go wide at Christen's forwardness. She swallows audibly and allows Christen to drop from her hands and slide down her body to stand face to face. Collecting herself, Tobin responds barely above a whisper

"In that case, those plans can wait." 


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smut! It's smut, the whole chapter. Enjoy responsibly.

They make it home in record time. Bursting through the front door, Tobin abandons her backpack in the entryway and Christen shuts the door loudly behind them.

Tobin stands in the middle of the living room, looking at Christen with lust-filled eyes. Christen's shirt clings to her, still damp from where her bikini top had soaked through the fabric. It's sticky and uncomfortable, and the look in Tobin's eyes practically takes the shirt off for her. She tosses it to the floor with a plop, unconcerned that the wet fabric may damage the old wood floor. It's a rental after all.

Christen strides over toward Tobin, allowing her to take in the sight of Christen's curly hair which had dried naturally in the car ride home while the windows were rolled down. Her chest still covered with the bikini top Tobin had loaned her, the tassels begging to be pulled undone to reveal the swelling breasts beneath. The expanse of her toned stomach that's cut off by the worn jean shorts that hang loosely on her hips after hiking through the greenbelt. Her long muscular legs that flex beneath smooth tanned skin as she takes her final steps to close the gap between them.

Unable to contain her desire any longer, Tobin reaches out for Christen's waist and pulls her in tightly to bring them closer together. Christen inhales sharply at the touch of Tobin's cold hands contacting the warm skin of her hips, but this is quickly forgotten when their lips crash together. It's needy and desperate, searching to relieve the tension that had been mounting between them since that night of the party.

Christen takes Tobin's top lip between her own, offering her full pouting bottom lip to Tobin. She can feel Tobin's tongue gliding across her bottom lip, feeling every ridge of the swollen pink skin. Christen parts her lips, allowing Tobin's tongue to enter her and explore her hot mouth freely. Their tongues dance with one another, licking and sliding in and out up against soft flesh.

Christen's hands come up to tangle in Tobin's still damp hair, pulling her in closer, deepening the kiss. With her fist filled with fine brunette hair, she gives a little tug, eliciting a whimper from Tobin.

"Oh my gosh I'm sorry, did I hurt you?" Christen asks with genuine concern, unsure if the noise from Tobin was out of pleasure or pain.

One look in Tobin's firey eyes and her question is answered. "I'm good. Really good actually. I like it when you're rough with me."

Satisfied with this answer, Christen smirks smugly and crashes her lips into Tobin's once more. She tugs at Tobin's shirt, silently asking permission to remove it. Tobin gladly complies and briefly breaks away to raise the shirt up over her head before tossing it aside.

Tobin's hands come back to rest on the waistline of Christen's shorts, toying with the fabric and gently grazing the surrounding skin. When Christen doesn't protest, Tobin fumbles with the button and zipper, sliding the shorts over Christen's ass and down her legs until gravity takes them to the floor. Christen kicks them off and mimics Tobin's action, removing Tobin's shorts until they rest next to her own.

Standing in their bikinis, Christen feels somewhat exposed only partially clothed in the middle of their living room. She grabs Tobin by the hands and walks backward down the hallway, maintaining eye contact as they go. She stops in front of the bedroom doors, unsure which room to enter.

Sensing her hesitation, Tobin speaks up. "I would offer my room, but I still have the futon. I mean, I'll take you anywhere at this point, but just thought I'd throw that out there."

Christen lets out a chuckle. "My room it is."

Christen leads them through the doorway and Tobin kicks the door shut behind them. Tobin leans against the door and Christen gladly presses her body against her. She detaches her lips from Tobin's to plant kisses along her cutting jawline up to her ear. She slowly licks along the rim before taking the lob in her mouth, biting down roughly before soothing it with her tongue. She can feel Tobin shiver beneath her and her breathing escalates. Christen continues down her neck sucking and nipping a trail down Tobin's neck. She feels the vibrations of Tobin's moans in her lips as she presses against the delicate skin of Tobin's throat.

Spurred on by this, Christen's lips curl back and she bites down hard at the curve of where Tobin's neck and shoulder meet.

"Fuck." Tobin groans. Before Christen can feel like she has control over the situation, Tobin pushes her back toward the bed. Christen's knees buckle when the backs of her calves hit the mattress and she sits rather forcibly on the bed. She doesn't have time to readjust before Tobin continues to push her down until her back hits the pillowy comforter of her bed. Tobin crawls up her body, straddling Christen with one thigh slotted between her legs, providing pressure against her center.

Christen only has about half a second to take in this new sensation before Tobin launches her own assault on Christen's neck. Using many of her own tricks against her, Christen can't stifle a moan when Tobin's teeth rake across her neck, nipping at her exposed collarbone. Tobin continues her trail down her chest until her lips rest just above Christen's breast.

With her face still hovering above the area, Tobin glances up at Christen, silently asking for permission to continue. Christen merely nods her head before she feels Tobin sweep the fabric aside to reveal her already peaking nipple. Tobin's tongue circles the hardened bud gently at first with her tongue, sending Christen reeling. She throws her head back and her eyes roll behind her eyelids, unable to focus with the waves of pleasure overtaking her body. Needing to feel more of Tobin, she arches her back and reaches around herself to claw at the thin string keeping her bikini tied to her chest. She pulls it away and tosses it aside, giving Tobin full access to her bare chest. Tobin takes this opportunity to reattach her mouth to Christen's sensitive nipple while she grasps at the other, circling and lightly tugging on the neglected peak with her fingers.

"Oh fuck, Tobin. You feel so good." Christen breathes out. All the while Christen's hips rock against Tobin's in a rhythm they had quickly established, both needing to feel some sort of pressure to address the pulsing between their legs.

Tobin continues her trail of kisses down Christen's chest, over her stomach as it rises and falls rapidly in anticipation of where Tobin is headed. Tobin stops at the fabric of her bikini bottoms taking it between her teeth and tugging playfully. Christen raises her hips willfully and helps Tobin shimmy them off her body.

Laying completely bare, Tobin's mouth hangs open, taking in the sight of Christen. She swallows thickly and brown eyes meet green. Adrenaline courses through Christen, and a strange mixture of excitement, desire, and tranquility overcome Christen. Although she lay there completely vulnerable, she couldn't feel more comfortable beneath the desperate eyes of Tobin.

"Tobin, I want you. I need your mouth on me. Please"

With a devilish grin, Tobin willfully complies, licking her lips hungrily before settling herself between Christen's legs.

The first lick is slow and torturous. Christen's already soaking core pulses against Tobin's tongue, her hips rising up to force herself further into Tobin's mouth. Tobin wraps her hands beneath Christen's ass, trying to control the over-eager girl.

"Fuck, Tobin. Mmm you feel so good."

Christen tangles her hands in Tobin's hair, massaging her scalp and tugging at fistfuls of her hair. Tobin moans into Christen, the vibrations further intensifying the tension quickly mounting in between Christen's legs.   
Desperately needing more, Christen digs her nails into Tobin's back, scratching her nails up the expanse of her skin which is now slightly misted by sweat.

Tobin's tongue skillfully licks between Christen's folds, tasting all of her before she focuses her energy on the bundle of nerves which will eventually cause Christen's unraveling.

Christen's hips buck wildly into Tobin and stings of expletives tumble from her lips between moans of pleasure. "Tobin, fuck me harder--I need more."

Complying, Tobin slots in her middle finger, sliding it so easily between Christen's folds. Christens hips thrust into Tobin's hand, taking in the full length of her finger as Tobin continues to swirl her tongue around Christen's engorged clit. Christen can feel her walls tightening around Tobin's finger as her whole body prepares to be pushed over the edge.

"Mmm Tobin--don't stop--yeah, right there."

With a final curl of Tobin's finger and flick of her tongue, euphoria washes over Christen and her whole body tingles and melts against the mattress as Tobin's name pours out of her mouth in a sigh.

Tobin licks Christen gently several times more as she rides out her orgasm, shooting aftershocks through Christen's body. When her body is spent, she pulls Tobin up to lay on her, still recovering. Tobin falls on top of her with her full weight. Even though Christen's still breathing heavily, she doesn't mind the pressure on her chest as Tobin lies there peppering adoring kisses along her neck and jaw.

"That was incredible." Christen says almost to herself, a kind of wonder and disbelief in her voice.

Tobin hums in her ear in response. "I'm glad you liked it. I've wanted to make you feel like that for so long."

Tobin kisses more adamantly against Christen's neck, lifting herself up slightly to get better access to her neck. As she does this, Tobin's hips rock against Christen's thigh and she can feel Tobin's arousal slick against her leg. Christen needs to feel Tobin with her fingers so she slides her hand down until it rests between her wet thigh and presses against Tobin's dripping center.

Tobin immediately moans at the contact into Christen's neck, already halfway gone. Christen feels the sting of teeth biting into her neck as if Tobin's anchoring herself to the spot. There will likely be a bruise, but it doesn't matter, Christen will do anything to get Tobin off at this point.

Christen rocks her hips in time with Tobin's helping her hand relieve the tension between Tobin's legs. She feels Tobin's arms shaking above her as they try to hold her up. Sensing Tobin's struggle, she flips them over so Tobin no longer has to concentrate on her positioning and just fully enjoy Christen's touch.

Christen takes this time to reposition herself so that she's straddled on top of Tobin, fingers sliding through her folds easily. She lowers herself further to ride her own hand, rocking against Tobin as she fingers Tobin.

"Fuck Chris, you're so fucking sexy." Tobin's eyes hungrily rake over Christen who's sitting straight up on top of her. Tobin reaches up to graze her hands over Christen's breasts, down her stomach, around her waist, landing on her perfect ass. Tobin grabs a hold of both her cheeks, pulling Christen's hips back and forth, setting the pace.

Christen can feel herself getting aroused, but focuses her energy on getting Tobin off before she lets herself get too excited. Tobin thrusts against Christen desperately, searching for that final piece of the puzzle to send her over the edge.

"Chris, I'm so close. Keep going." Christen gives into Tobin's demands and circles her clit tightly with her fingers, still rocking against her at a desperate pace. Tobin's eyes slam shut tightly, brows furrowed as her sole focus overtakes her.

"Chris I'm coming--I'm, oh--" Tobin doesn't finish her statement as her whole body quakes with pleasure. Her muscles tense and relax beneath Christen as she watches the brunette experience the same euphoria she had felt minutes before. Tobin's brows unfurrow and her face relaxes as she breathes out a deep sigh, indicating the wave had finished washing over her. Tobin opens her eyes to meet Christen's and offers her a weak but completely contented smile.

Satisfied with her work, Christen removes her hand and places two of her fingers in her mouth, sucking Tobin's arousal off of them slowly. "Next time I want to taste you."

Eyes wide, Tobin simply nods with her mouth agape at Christen's taunting display, too exhausted to do anything about it now.

Christen swings her leg over and falls to lay next to Tobin, both still catching their breath as they stare up at the ceiling. They lay there in a comfortable silence, not wanting to burst the bubble of this delicate moment and just enjoy each other's presence. However, Christen's stomach has different ideas and gurgles loudly. They both laugh heartily at this.

"Well I guess we worked up an appetite didn't we." Christen pats her stomach. "You hungry? I can make us something for dinner."

Tobin turns to her side and glides her fingers across Christen's stomach, drawing little circles as her eyes follow. "Does that require you putting clothes on?"

Christen gives her a quick kiss on the forehead. "It doesn't have to."

"Ok, I guess I could have something light. I've already eaten out twice today, don't want to be too indulgent you know?"

Christen scoffs with a smile, rolling her eyes playfully at Tobin's immature comment. "You're incredible." Christen says sarcastically.

"I know." Tobin smiles smugly before pulling Christen in for another kiss. "So are you."

Dinner is quickly forgotten and they fall into each other once again, blissfully exploring each other for the rest of the night.


	14. Chapter 14

  
Christen wakes to an unfamiliar alarm. She sprawls over the bed to extinguish the source of this unwanted commotion. As she crawls over the bed toward her end table where the phone rests, she leans against the warm body of Tobin who had fallen asleep beside her last night. Memories of the night before come flooding back and she taps the phone alarm off with a grin, no longer grumpy that she was jolted from her sleep. She smiles at the brunette who rustles beneath the comforter, groaning at the prospect of getting up.

"Tell me again why we play soccer? It's too early." Tobin mumbles into her pillow.

Christen lets out a small laugh and lets her hands fall to Tobin's tangled bed head, stroking the locks gently "I know. I wish we could just stay in bed all day."

Tobin turns over to meet Christen's gaze, her eyes still groggy from sleep, but with a hint of deviousness in them at the thought of the night before. "Couldn't we just get our cardio here?" Tobin's hand finds the top of Christen's thigh and slides it up, only half joking with this statement.

Christen gives her a quick kiss on the head and slides out from under the covers, away from Tobin's tempting offer. "As much as I would really enjoy that, we should probably get a move on so we can at least get some coffee in us before we head over to the field."

Tobin groans again and dramatically rolls out of bed, knowing Christen's right. Christen chuckles at this and wonders if watching Tobin wake up is always this entertaining.

They gather their gear and head to the pitch. It's a brief walk and Christen and Tobin spend most of the walk in silence. Tobin isn't much of a morning person, so she stays relatively quiet, but she glances at Christen often with adoration, smiling and bumping shoulders with her. They can't help but touch each other and maintain some kind of contact.

When they get to the field house, they continue their flirtatious looks and banter, gaining the attention of some of their teammates who look to each other as they put the pieces together. But Christen and Tobin can't be bothered, they're too wrapped up in each other to notice the looks and whispers between their teammates. Kelley also watches their exchange, arms crossed tightly over her chest, her body language reflecting some mixture of annoyance with a hint of sadness.

On the pitch, Tobin passes cross after cross to Christen as they scrimmage, annoying some members of the team who wave their hands wildly across the field indicating how open they are for a pass. But Tobin is oblivious as she dribbles down the left flank, looking for yet another cross to Christen. Just as she's about to kick the ball forward, Kelley comes streaking in, sliding across Tobin's body, bringing her to the ground roughly. Her ankle throbs in pain as she hits the ground and she instinctively grabs at it with her hands.

Still on the ground, Tobin shouts in frustration. "What the fuck Kelley!"

Kelley stands up, straightening her jersey and shorts out. "What? I knew you were about to pass to Christen. I saw my chance for a tackle and I took it."

Sitting up, Tobin holds her ankle tightly "You know that was a dirty tackle!"

Their teammates start congregating around them, listening to this exchange.

"It's not my fault you're crosses are predictable! Maybe try passing to someone who you aren't fucking!"

The coaches break it up and order Kelley to the locker room to cool down. Tobin hobbles to her feet but her ankle still feels tender. A trainer comes over and helps her to the training room to get a look at her ankle.

All the while, Christen stands alone, acutely aware of the whispers and judgmental looks coming from her teammates. Needing to get away from their prying eyes, Christen jogs to the locker room, ignoring the coaches whistle to get back to training. A huge part of her wants to go to the training room and check on Tobin, but she follows Kelley into the locker room instead. When she enters, she sees Kelley throwing her gear into her locker, slamming it shut before sitting on the bench nearby with her head in her hands. She looks miserable.

"Kelley?" Christen chokes out barely above a whisper.

Kelley turns, her eyes filled with grief. She gives Christen a once over and turns back around. "What do you want?" She says dejectedly.

"I wanted to see--you look--are you ok?" Christen sputters, the answer to her question obvious.

Kelley scoffs. "Oh just dandy. It's so much fun watching your ex and your friend eye fucking each other all practice. Couldn't think of a better way to start my day." Her voice drips with sarcasm and resentment.

Christen cringes, feeling guilty for having a part in making Kelley feel like this. "Kel, I'm sorry. I thought you were ok with this." Christen takes a step toward Kelley to try and get a better look at her face to gauge her reaction.

Kelley sighs, still looking at the ground. "Yeah, I know. I thought I was too. It's just--it's still hard you know? You kinda fucked me up." Christen sees a tear fall down Kelley's cheek.

Christen closes the distance between them and comes to sit next to Kelley on the bench. "You know that wasn't my intention right? I'd never intentionally hurt you."

Kelley wipes the errant tear from her cheek. "I know, that's the frustrating part. You're such a good person, I can't make myself hate you to help me move on. And you and Tobin--" Kelley takes a deep breath, her voice shaking a bit as she swallows back tears. "I see the way you look at each other. You never looked at me the same way you look at her."

Christen casts her eyes down, neither girl looking at each other as they sit side by side in silence on the bench.

Kelley lets out a sigh. "I'll always care about you Chris, you know that right?"

Christen nods her head. "Me too Kel."

"I'm not like, giving you my blessing or anything, you're allowed to do whatever you want. But I hope Tobin makes you happy. That's all I want. For you to be happy. I just need some time...and maybe a good lay. You know how the saying goes, the best way to get over someone is to get under someone else." Kelley gives Christen a wink, easing some of the tension between them. Kelley has always been good at that.

A small smile keeps onto Christen's lips and she maintains eye contact with the redhead. "Thanks Kelley."

Kelley just nods. "And if she ever hurts you, she'll be getting more than a dirty tackle from me!" Kelley adds more animatedly.

"So you admit it was a dirty tackle." Christen teases.

Kelley opens her mouth to protest, but decides against it and just offers a grin. Christen gives her a little nudge and they share a laugh. Christen knows they still have a long way to go to rebuild their friendship, but she knows Kelley will bounce back to her usual bubbly self eventually.

The rest of the team trickle into the locker room as Christen finishes packing up her belongings. She slings her bag over her shoulder and heads toward the training room to check on Tobin.

When she walks in, she sees Tobin sitting on the table, the trainer hunched over her ankle securing ice to it. Tobin winces a little but smiles upon seeing Christen.

"Hey, you ok?" Christen comes over, running her hand along Tobin's arm.

"Yeah it should be fine. I just need to go easy on it then next few days. How's Kelley?" Tobin asks hesitantly.

"She's ok now. We got to talk about things. She just needs some time I think." Christen tries to keep her response vague, not wanting to get into the details at the moment.

Tobin nods her head in understanding. The trainer finishes up and gives her instructions for how to ice and elevate her ankle while it heals. Tobin hops off the table gingerly, testing out how much weight to put on it. Satisfied with a slight limp, Tobin and Christen head out of the training room to get to their first classes.

Before parting ways, Christen stops Tobin and gives her a sweet kiss. "Are you going to be ok?"

Tobin gives her a knowing smirk "Yeah, are you?"

Christen merely nods, understanding the weighty undertones of the question.

They share one last kiss before heading in opposite direction to get to their classes.

When Tobin doesn't show up to their psych class two hours later, Christen panics a little. She pulls out her phone and texts Tobin discretely under the table.

C: you aren't in class, is everything ok?

T: yeah I'm fine, my ankle was bothering me so I just went home to rest it. Will you take notes for me?

C: of course, but I can come home and take care of you if you want.

T: no it's fine. You can take care of me after class ;)

C: well now I'm really going to have a hard time concentrating on taking notes.

T: sorry I'm not sorry. Now get to work on those notes instead of picturing me naked!

Grinning widely, Christen puts her phone away and tries to concentrate on the lecture. She jots down important sounding phrases here and there, but Tobin was right, all she can think about is the brunette waiting for her at home in various states of undress. When the professor finally releases them from class, she nearly knocks over another student with the speed of her exit.

When she opens the door to the house, she sees Tobin lounging on the couch clutching a bowl of chips, foot elevated with ice over it.

Tobin's face lights up when she sees Christen enter the room. "Hey! Did you get the notes?"

Christen saunters over and removes the bowl of chips from the crook of Tobin's lap, sitting down there instead. She brings her hand up to Tobin's face, tracing her jawline with her finger. "I got some, but I was a little distracted once you planted that image of you naked into my head."

Christen leans in and captures Tobin's lips between her own, allowing the kiss to linger several seconds before pulling away.

"Sorry about that." Tobin teases

"I'm not." Christen says, her eyes filling with lust for Tobin. She leans back in and kisses Tobin more forcibly this time. Tobin reaches for Christen, grabbing her thigh in an attempt to pull her in closer. Their kiss quickly becomes heated as Christen licks into Tobin's mouth, eliciting a small moan of approval.

Christen goes to swing her leg over and straddle Tobin, but her toe nicks the top of Tobin's elevated foot, knocking it off of it's throne of pillows.

"Ow! shit!" Tobin curses through gritted teeth.

"Oh my god I'm so sorry! Your ankle!" Christen scurries to try and place Tobin's foot back on it's pedestal with the bag of ice leaking cold water onto the sofa.

"It's fine, it's fine! It didn't hurt that bad I promise. See? All better" Tobin gestures to her new arrangement on the couch.

"I'm sorry." Christen places an apologetic kiss on Tobin's lips.

"You know how you can make it up to me?" Tobin quirks her eyebrow up suggestively with a devious grin

Before Christen has a chance to respond, her phone chimes from an incoming text. Pulling her attention from Tobin, she grabs her phone from the coffee table and unlocks the screen.

Kelley: hey, a bunch of us are going out to The Bottle tonight. Do you and Tobin want to come?

Christen looks at her phone with furrowed brows

"What's up?" Tobin asks

"Apparently Kelley's going out with some people tonight and wants to know if we want to come." Christen says, still staring at her phone as if she's decoding hieroglyphics.

"Do you want to go?" Tobin asks in a neutral tone

"I don't know. I mean, it would be nice to just hang out and enjoy each other's company again like we used to."

"Yeah totally." Tobin agrees

"But if you don't want to go, we can stay here. You need to rest your ankle so it would be a legitimate excuse to duck out of it." Christen tries to offer her a way out of this potentially awkward get together.

"No, I think you're right. We need to hang out with Kelley again. I don't want things to be weird with us anymore."

Christen nods at Tobin's reassurance and goes to text Kelley back.

C: yeah that sounds good! What time?

K: like 9:30-10. I'll let you know when we're on our way there.

C: ok see you tonight!

  
They spend the rest of the afternoon finishing homework and catching up on reading assignments with the occasional make out session thrown in there to reward themselves for working so hard. As the impending night out draws closer, Christen and Tobin get ready in their separate rooms. Since they're just going to The Bottle, both girls dress casually in tshirts and jeans, not wanting to put in too much effort for such a grimy but charming dive bar.

They catch an Uber over there once Kelley says the rest of the girls are on their way. As expected, the bar is full of an eclectic crowd of college students, swarthy looking biker types, high schoolers who obviously just got a fake ID, and a few of the soccer gals in the back. As they approach, many of the girls greet them, and Kelley orders a round of shots for the three of them.

Kelley comes over with three shots in hand, giving one to Christen and one to Tobin. She turns to Tobin, handing her the shot as sort of a peace offering. "Hey, I just wanted to apologize for earlier. I shouldn't have tackled you so hard or said any of that stuff. I was out of line. Is your ankle ok?"

"Don't worry about it, we're cool. My ankle's fine it just needs some rest. Should be good before the next game."

"That's a relief. I'd never hear the end of it if I took out our assist machine." Accepting Kelley's apology wholeheartedly, Tobin and Kelley smile at each other, laying down a few bricks to build back the friendship they had made so easily earlier this year.

Kelley raises her shot glass "Cheers! Onward and upward!"

After a few more drinks, the girls have sufficiently loosened up. Many of them have commandeered the dance floor while Christen and Tobin sip their drinks, talking and watching their teammates from a nearby table.

"Looks like Kelley found someone to keep her occupied." Tobin says motioning toward Kelley who's tangled up on the dance floor with one of the freshmen.

"Oh my god that's Emily!" Christen raises her hand to cover her open mouth, stifling her laughter. "It's like watching Kelley make out with herself."

Christen and Tobin laugh good-naturedly at this display. They watch as Kelley glides her hands up and down the younger girl's body in a frenzy, barely even moving to the music anymore as they make out unabashedly on the dance floor.

"Guess she's moving on." Tobin jokes

"Wow, they're really going at it. Were we that all over each other when were dating?" Christen asks, half joking.

"I mean, obviously it was way hotter to watch when it was you with Kelley." Tobin teases suggestively

"Oh no. You getting all turned on by Kelley and me making out is what got us into this mess in the first place." Christen scolds playfully.

"Hey, I'm not complaining. Best mess I've ever been in." Tobin says, smiling cutely at Christen.

Christen can't help but smile back, melting a little at the fact that Tobin can be so sweet without even trying.

Kelley stumbles over to them with her arm wrapped around Emily's waist, both looking fairly drunk. "Alright you two, we're getting out of here. I gotta tuck this baby in, it's past her bedtime." Kelley looks at Emily for a reaction and earns a scoff and slap on the arm from the freshman girl.

Christen laughs at this exchange. "Alright. Thanks for inviting us, I really liked getting to hang out with everyone. Let me know if you want to do it again soon." Christen says, still perched on the bar stool. "Do you have a ride back to your place?"

"Yeah, I got an Uber waiting outside so we should probably go. See you guys at practice!" Kelley waves animatedly at Tobin and Christen and guides Emily out of the bar toward their ride.

"You ready to go too babe?" Tobin asks

Christen smiles at the sound of this term of endearment. "Yeah, I just have something I need to ask you before we go."

A look of concern washes over Tobin's face. "Yeah of course. What's wrong?"

Christen smiles and shakes her head. "No nothing, nothing like that. I was just wondering--God this feels so stupid." Christen pauses gathering her thoughts while Tobin waits patiently for her to begin again. "I know we've been spending a lot of time together, and we already live together and everything, it feels kind of trivial at this point, it's like, it doesn't even really matter, I just want to make things all nice and clear cut because you know how I like thing all neat and tidy--"

"Chris, just spit it out." Tobin says assertively

Christen takes a deep breath, calmed by the kind brown eyes staring back at her "Tobin, will you be my girlfriend?"

Tobin's lips spread wide across her pearly white teeth. "I can't think of anything else I'd rather be."

They come together, sealing their words with a sweet lingering kiss. Although they had shared many kisses already, Christen knows this one in particular will be seared in her memory forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, I think this is the end! It's tied up all nice and neat and I think I could leave it and feel good about the ending. Unless you guys have other ideas, in which case an epilogue might be in order...
> 
> But anyway, thanks for reading and following along! I appreciate all the comments and support throughout.


	16. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who wanted an epilogue, this is for you. I'm bringing it back full circle.
> 
> I'd like to start writing a new story but could use some inspiration. Feel free to leave a comment with ideas and writing prompts for one-shots or multi-chapters.

"Hey Tobs, did you get that pineapple at the store like I asked?" Christen yells from the kitchen as Tobin scurries in and out unloading groceries from her new car.

Just then Tobin appears in the doorway with a large pineapple in hand grinning widely. "Sure did. How could I forget the most important part of the punch?"

Tobin closes the back door and sets the pineapple on the counter. Christen gives Tobin a quick kiss on the lips "Thanks babe. Not gonna lie, I thought you might forget it since it isn't a traditional frat house party food."

Tobin wraps her hands around Christen's waist, pulling their bottom halves together. "Of course I remembered! I know you really want things to be perfect tonight." Tobin places a sweet kiss on her girlfriend's cheek before sliding in further to whisper in her ear, her voice lowering. "Plus, I read somewhere that pineapple's supposed to make you taste amazing." Tobin takes Christen's earlobe between her teeth, giving it a playful bite.

"Ha, so that's why you remembered! That makes so much more sense. I swear, when is your mind not in the gutter?" Christen teases

"It's hard to keep it outta there when I have such a smokin hot girlfriend." Tobin grabs a handful of Christen's ass and gives it a smack.

"Alright Casanova, we still have a party to host. You need to be on your best behavior alright? I want to make a good impression with the incoming freshmen." Christen gives Tobin a peck on the cheek before detaching from Tobin to finish putting the groceries away.

Tobin pouts. "Aww come on, seeing your captain make out with her incredibly studly girlfriend totally counts as making a good impression!"

"Tobin" Christen gives her a knowing look, indicating she's serious. Tobin relents.

"Fine, fine. I'll try my best ok? But I can't be held accountable for what my hands do after 5 drinks."

It's the beginning of a new season. Kelley finished out the school year, graduated, and was immediately drafted into the NWSL, leaving the role of team captain to Christen. Tobin and Christen still live in the same house, enjoying every moment of finally being together openly. Kelley eventually moved on with the help of her new fling Emily. While they tell themselves and others that they're "keeping things casual", Christen can see right through Kelley, who comes down every opportunity she gets between games to visit Emily. Their party tonight is not only a welcoming to the start of a new season, but also a celebration of things finally falling into place.

Tobin sets up a beer pong table near the keg in the living room while Christen puts the final touches on the punch. She cuts up the pineapple into chunks, throwing it in the red mixture of fruit juice and vodka. She sneaks a few pieces, popping the sweet fruit into her mouth as she finishes, giving the liquid one final stir.

"Ok, I think we're ready. What time are people coming over?" Christen asks as she walks into the living room.

Tobin looks at her watch. "Should be any minute now. You need me to do anything else?" Tobin asks, resting her arms atop Christen's shoulders.

Christen wraps her arms around Tobin's waist "No, it's perfect. Thanks for helping me do all this. You know how stressed out I can get planning parties."

"Of course. Anything for you, love." Tobin plants a sweet kiss to Christen's lips

Christen smiles widely "I love you"

"I love you too."

They lean in simultaneously, their movements so familiar at this point. Although they had shared many kisses over the past year, Christen's heart still races every time their lips meet. She can't help the way her body instinctively melts into Tobin, feeling so safe wrapped up in her embrace. Her tongue traces the outline of Tobin's lips, rough and chapped from anxiously biting them all day. The unexplainable taste of Tobin lingers there. Tobin parts her lips, inviting Christen to escalate their kiss as they stand tangled in the living room. Christen's tongue slides slowly into Tobin's mouth, savoring the sensation of Tobin's tongue gliding against her own. Christen's hands reach beneath the fabric of Tobin's shirt to draw abstract shapes across the soft skin of her hips. Their bodies mold together, pressing tightly against one another. Christen can feel her breasts rubbing into Tobin's, nipples grazing and teasing against each other.

Suddenly there's a knock on the door.

"Fuck." Tobin curses under her breath as the two separate.

"To be continued." Christen reassures Tobin, running her hand along her jaw, down her neck, resting on her chest and giving her one last chaste kiss before she goes to answer the door.

"I'm holding you to that." Tobin quips, straightening out her shirt to be presentable for the incoming guests.

Several hours later, the party is in full swing. Christen and Tobin spend most of the evening apart, with Tobin running games of beer pong, flip cup, and other assorted drinking games in the living room, while Christen mingles with the freshmen girls in the kitchen, trying to get them in that sweet spot of drunk enough to dance like no one's watching, but not so drunk they'll be regretting it in the morning. Throwing parties is a balancing act.

At some point, there's a lull between rounds of beer pong and Tobin takes this opportunity to find her girlfriend. She walks into the kitchen to find Christen animatedly explaining the drama of her first away match to a group of drunk freshmen. They all look at her with such admiration, captivated by her charisma and charm. It also doesn't hurt that Christen looks sexy as hell in a tight black tank top and jean shorts, her hair gathered in a ponytail to reveal her long neck and collarbones, just asking to be licked and bitten. Overwhelmingly turned on at the sight of her girlfriend, Tobin interrupts the story to drag Christen out into the porch.

"Hey, I was right in the middle of telling them about the time I accidentally showered in the men's locker room! That's one of my best stories! You better have a good reason for interrupting." Christen scolds her playfully.

"I couldn't handle just looking at you anymore, I needed you all to myself so I could do this." Tobin pulls her with her hand wrapped around the back of her neck into a deep kiss. The air is hot and slightly sticky as it blows across Christen's exposed skin. Despite the heat, goosebumps form all along Christen's arms and a shiver of pleasure starts at her neck and runs down her spine.

When they break apart, a smile erupts on Christen's lips. "Alright, I'll allow it."

She watches as Tobin digs in her pockets, pulling out a joint. Christen smiles and rolls her eyes "Tobin Heath, we're supposed to be setting a good example for our teammates!"

"Well you already supplied alcohol to minors. What's one more illegal activity to add to your wrap sheet?"

Christen relents and she just smirks at Tobin, her body language indicating for Tobin to continue. Tobin takes this cue and sticks the joint between her lips to light the end, drawing smoke into her lungs. She holds it in a few seconds, removing the joint from her lips before exhaling into the open air above her.

Christen too takes a brief hit while the joint is still lit, following Tobin's instruction to hold in the smoke a few seconds before exhaling. She coughs out roughly, having only smoked a handful of times, all with Tobin.

Tobin runs her hand along her back. "You ok champ? You need some water or something?"

Her coughing subsides and she quickly recovers. "No I'm fine. Still getting used to smoking all by myself." Christen's eyes glint with the memory of their first party together. "You remember the first time I smoked with you? You looked so sexy, I couldn't take my eyes off your lips. I would have done anything to have them near me."

Tobin smiles taking another drag from the joint. "Yeah, how could I forget? You looked good that night too." Tobin extinguishes the joint and sets it on a nearby ledge, using her now free hands to pull Christen in by the waist. "I have a confession, I may have manipulated you just a little bit into shotgunning with me for my own selfish reasons. That was the first time I knew I wasn't going to last very long as just your friend. I needed more."

Christen smiles and brings her hand up to Tobin's cheek, stroking the skin gently. "Well looks like your manipulations worked. You got me. All of me."

Christen closes the gap and kisses Tobin sweetly. Her lips tingle against Tobin's, a combination of weed and Tobin's intoxicating taste stimulating her senses, sending her nerve endings into overdrive. When she backs away, she sees Tobin's hooded eyes, cloaked by desire. Reasoning that the party will go on without them, Christen grabs Tobin by the hand and pulls her through the crowd toward her bedroom, well, their bedroom now.

Muffling the noise of the party, Tobin shuts the door behind her, making sure to turn the lock to avoid any unwanted interruptions. When she turns around, she's met by green eyes dragging up and down her body.

"Why does this situation feel so familiar?" Christen jokes, sauntering over toward Tobin.

"With one key difference. I have you all to myself this time." Tobin tucks a stray wisp of hair behind Christen's ear as she studies every feature of Christen's face.

"And you're not going to leave this time?" Christen quips, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I'm right here baby. I'm not going anywhere."

With that, Christen pushes Tobin back against the bed until she sits. Tobin wiggles her way backward to rest against the headboard, propped up on her elbows. With Tobin's eyes focused on her, Christen strips off her tank top to reveal the black push up bra beneath. She also shimmies out of her jean shorts, knowing there's no reason to be coy at this moment. Tobin's mouth quirks into a goofy grin, marveling at the sight of the green-eyed beauty in front of her.

Satisfied with Tobin's stupefied look, Christen crawls her way up Tobin's body, making sure to slot her leg between Tobin's before she comes face to face with the brunette. "Lay down." Christen orders.

Tobin immediately obliges and lets her head fall to the pillows beneath. Christen sits up, sliding both hands under Tobin's shirt, feeling her taught muscular stomach as her hands glide up to Tobin's breasts. Christen can feel Tobin's peaking nipples beneath her sports bra and takes a few moments to focus her attention there, circling the hardened buds with her fingertips.

Tobin exhales a contented sigh, happy to let Christen have her way with her. She tugs at Tobin's shirt, prompting Tobin to sit up to allow Christen to pull the unwanted clothing over her head.

"These too." Christen says, popping the waistband of Tobin's shorts. Tobin lifts her hips and helps Christen tug them down her legs, kicking them off the edge of the bed.

Christen takes a long look at Tobin, making sure to take in every inch of her perfectly sculpted body. She lays on top of Tobin, eager to feel the skin to skin contact of their torsos and legs as they mold together. Christen lets her hand wander up Tobin's leg, briefly glancing over Tobin's center, up her torso and across her chest until her hand comes to rest on Tobin's cutting jaw. Tobin's breathing is already rushed and Christen can feel her heartbeat steadily quickening. Their eyes lock momentarily, a silent plea for more simmering behind Tobin's dilated pupils.

Reasoning that Tobin had waited long enough, Christen leans in and attaches her lips to Tobin's, kissing her with such force, Tobin immediately gasps at the contact. Christen lets her hand snake its way between them, cupping Tobin's underwear clad center as they grind against one another. She can already feel Tobin through the damp fabric and makes quick work of removing the useless barrier between them. Christen slides her fingers through Tobin's slick folds, feeling her arousal coat her fingers thoroughly.

She can hear Tobin moaning into her ear as she keens into Christen's hand with more desperation now. "Fuck baby, you feel so good." Tobin draws out, her fingers raking up and down Christen's back searching for something to hold onto to anchor herself.

Sensing Tobin's urgency, Christen slows her pace and removes her hand from Tobin's center. "Don't rush babe. I want to take my time with you."

Tobin takes a deep breath, refocusing her mind in an attempt to manage her arousal, and does as Christen says. Her hips roll more slowly into Christen's thigh, but are unable to completely stop their search for friction.

Christen lowers back onto Tobin, gently kissing along her neck and jawline, tracing the pulsing veins with her tongue. She slides her hand across Tobin's breast once more pushing her hand underneath the elastic of her bra to feel the soft skin as it reacts to Christen's touch.

"Shit. Chris, you're killing me. I need more." Tobin pants frustratedly.

Christen detaches her mouth from Tobin's neck, bringing her lips up to Tobin's ear, grazing it as she speaks "Tell me you want me to fuck you."

Tobin's mouth falls open, a whole new level of arousal washing over her. "I do, god, I want you fuck me so much."

"Tell me you want my tongue inside of you, tasting how wet you are."

"Fuck--Chris, yes, I want you inside me. Just--please...fuck me." Tobin's hips thrust desperately into Christen now, searching for the relief that Christen dangles over Tobin like a carrot on a string.

Christen senses Tobin's intense desire, smirking at how desperate she is for release. "Well all you had to do was ask."

With that, Christen lowers herself down Tobin's body, settling herself between the brunette's legs.

She licks her lips before running her tongue up Tobin's wet slit. Tobin moans loudly, already most of the way there from Christen's intense, almost cruel teasing. She licks through Tobin's folds several more times, each time earning a tug at her hair or plea of her name. She uses her tongue to slide into Tobin, curling it inside of her expertly, causing Tobin to writhe against her. She continues this trick, twisting and thrusting her tongue against Tobin's walls as they tighten and quiver against Christen.

"Oh god Chris, yeah, keep going. Keep going."

Christen gradually removes her tongue from Tobin momentarily before replacing it with her fingers so her mouth can find Tobin's throbbing clit. Tobin's hips buck wildly, taking in all of Christen's fingers as she pumps in and out in pace with Tobin. She wraps her lips around Tobin's clit, sucking gently, and swirls her tongue in small tight circles. Tobin moans and sighs with every exhale, her body writhing and constructing around the tanned girl between her legs. Finally, Tobin feels the familiar sensation as her body is taken over by that sweet release.

"Chris." Tobin sighs out as her body pulses with endorphins, shooting pleasure all through her body. Christen glides her tongue across Tobin's center, drawing out the remainder of her orgasm before kissing a trail back up to Tobin's chest where she rests her head.

A contented sigh escapes from Tobin's lips as she wraps her arms around Christen tightly. "I will never get tired of doing that."  
Tobin says with a small chuckle.

"Good, cus I like doing it." Christen places tender kisses along Tobin's chest and neck.

Tobin stokes Christen's bare back lightly as she regains her composure, running her finger nails up and down the smooth expanse of skin. "Mm I like that. Feels good." Christen says dreamily.

Tobin tilts her head up to whisper in Christen's ear. "I know something else that you might like even better."

Christen smiles against Tobin's chests and pushes herself up slightly to respond, but as she opens her mouth to speak, she feels Tobin flip them over and her snarky remark is quickly forgotten.

Tobin makes quick work of Christen. She doesn't tease like Christen teased her, but that's probably for the best. Christen's already halfway gone from the thought of Tobin coming just minutes ago, and foreplay would be a meaningless endeavor at this point.

Tobin grasps at Christen's breast, sucking and licking one nipple while her fingers tug and circle the other. Christen arches her back into Tobin, forcing her breast harder against Tobin's tongue. Tobin bites down gently, eliciting a whimper of pain and pleasure from Christen as her hips jerk up involuntarily against Tobin's stomach.

Christen wraps her legs around Tobin's torso, drawing her in closer until her arousal coats the skin of her abdomen. Taking the hint, Tobin slides down Christen's body and takes one long lick through Christen's folds. Christen shudders and her eyes slam shut, unable to control the noises escaping from her mouth. As she raises her hips up again to meet Tobin's mouth, she realizes Tobin no longer rests between her thighs. Instead Tobin had made her way back up Christen's body and her lips brush against Christen's ear.

"I want to hear you panting in my ear when you come."

Tobin moves her hand to Christen's center, her fingers sliding easily over the soaking wet area. With little warning, Tobin plunges two fingers inside Christen curling them inside as she pulls them in and out slowly at first. Christen responds immediately, gasping at the sensation, and her hips soon take over setting the pace. Christen rides Tobin's fingers, her clit hitting against Tobin's palm with every thrust.

"Tobin, fuck, I'm so close."

Tobin brings her thumb to Christen's clit, increasing the stimulation of the bundle of nerves. Christen breathes raggedly into Tobin's ear, her arms wrapped tightly around her neck, pulling her in close. With a final thrust, Christen climaxes and sighs Tobin's name as she comes down. She releases her hold on Tobin and melts into the mattress beneath her, body spent from being worked over so thoroughly.

Tobin kisses her all over, relishing the naked panting girl beneath her. Still in a daze, Christen ponders aloud. "Tell me again why we ever leave this room?"

Tobin chuckles lightly, giving Christen one final kiss before dragging herself out of bed to retrieve her clothes. "Well currently, there are 50 or so people in our house drinking heavily, so I should probably go check on them."

Christen rolls over and sits up on the bed, bringing her hands up to her head to contain the mane of sex hair into a more manageable pony tail. "Yeah that's probably a good idea."

Tobin tosses Christen her clothes and they both finish dressing. Before Tobin has a chance to exit, Christen wraps her arms around her waist from behind, kissing her behind the ear. "I love you."

Tobin spins around, placing her arms around Christen's shoulders. With a smile, Tobin places a kiss gingerly on Christen's lips. "I love you too Chris--and good call on the pineapple. You tasted so sweet." Smiling flirtatiously, Tobin sticks her fingers that hand just been inside Christen into her mouth, wrapping her lips around them to suck them dry.

Christen's lips curl into a playful smile. "Keep going and you won't make it outta here to check on our guests."

They open the door to the room, exiting together. They hear a whistle from one of the guests, but most everyone else is oblivious or just don't give a shit about what they were up to.

About an hour later the keg is floated and people start trickling out in search of the next party. Christen and Tobin say goodbyes to their teammates and make sure they all have a safe ride back to the dorms. Christen starts picking up red solo cups but eventually gives up on the task and sits exhausted on the couch instead, vowing to clean up the mess in the morning.

Tobin comes over and plops down next to Christen, sighing dramatically. "I'm so tired. Hosting is exhausting. Remind me of this next time I offer the house for a party."

Tobin leans her head against Christen's shoulder and yawns. "Thanks again for helping. I think everyone had a really good time. I know I did."

Tobin smiles and places a lazy kiss on Christen's arm. "Good. That's all that matters.

Christen kisses the top of Tobin's head and runs her hands through the brunette locks. Before she knows it, Christen hears tiny snores escape from Tobin's mouth. Christen smiles at this, completely content to be Tobin's pillow for a few more moments before taking her to bed. Christen looks at the girl beside her, wondering how she got so lucky to have a girlfriend who adores her just as much, if not more, than she adores Tobin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts? Ideas? Prompts? Let me know...


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